Portland earthquake threat (Beaverton, Hillsboro, Bend: house, university, to live)

[Lapaki]

Sorry, folks -- I haven't logged in for a while. What people don't get is that when the Big One hits -- and it will, eventually -- it won't be like the SF or LA quakes, which have been comparatively localized. It will devastate the entire region. If you survive (which most people will), and if you're prepared with supplies (which some people are), what about your job? How will people here make a living when their places of business have been destroyed? In the worst-case scenario, you won't be able to leave because much of the infrastructure will have been destroyed. The PNW will go into recession for years, if not decades. I did some research, and I read a convincing case that, if some of the Columbia River dams fail, the entire Western power grid will be affected, so even moving to Bend won't protect you from the consequences.

There's always a worst case, though, and the worst case might not happen during our lifetimes. My wife and I love the PNW. I spent 25 years in the South, and they're dealing with drought, brutal summers, and wildfires. We have family here in the PNW. We're nearing retirement age, so the probability window for an M9 quake for us is narrowing. We probably will stay here and take our chances. We live in Beaverton, and someone pointed out that FEMA is going to help Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and the other highly populated areas before they help more rural areas. My point is that you need to evaluate your own situation, where you are in life, what your risk tolerance is, and make an informed decision. If I were 25, I'd probably leave the region. At 58, I'm more likely to take my chances.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Lapaki

......... someone pointed out that FEMA is going to help Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, ............

Well, you can cross your fingers and hope because whenever there is any sort of natural disaster in Oregon, FEMA never shows up.

A small town in the Willamette valley was reduced to toothpicks by a tornado and all that came from Washington was that they wouldn't offer any help because not enough homes were destroyed.

With extreme flooding or extreme snowfall, the Oregon National Guard will occasionally be out helping, but nothing from Washington. No FEMA, no disaster designation, no low cost federal loans for repairs.

[bachfanwang]

This New Yorker article is good to read.

The Earthquake That Will Devastate the Pacific Northwest

It even pointed out the exact time of the last big earthquake.

Finally, in a 1996 article in Nature, a seismologist named Kenji Satake and three colleagues, drawing on the work of Atwater and Yamaguchi, matched that orphan to its parent—and thereby filled in the blanks in the Cascadia story with uncanny specificity. At approximately nine o’ clock at night on January 26, 1700, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck the Pacific Northwest, causing sudden land subsidence, drowning coastal forests, and, out in the ocean, lifting up a wave half the length of a continent. It took roughly fifteen minutes for the Eastern half of that wave to strike the Northwest coast. It took ten hours for the other half to cross the ocean. It reached Japan on January 27, 1700: by the local calendar, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of Genroku.

[Oregon_Native32]

I wasn't really worried until this last weeks Oregon coast earthquakes. I have an emergency bag ready if ANYTHING happens but I don't think it is going to be severe enough to really harm the coastline && Oregon & Washington the way the news is suggesting. My thing is, it is better to be prepared than not.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by TailorJohnson

I wasn't really worried until this last weeks Oregon coast earthquakes. I have an emergency bag ready if ANYTHING happens but I don't think it is going to be severe enough to really harm the coastline && Oregon & Washington the way the news is suggesting. My thing is, it is better to be prepared than not.

It IS always best to be prepared, I agree.

But earthquakes are pretty common here: a compiled list of earthquakes above 5.0 (roughly):
Historic earthquakes

the seismic recording equipment to pick up and pinpoint offshore quakes didn't really go in until the 70s, so there are probably offshore quakes not on this list - hence some of the earthquakes in the 1950s and earlier on the list that say "felt in the Portland area."

[PortlandPortland]

Originally Posted by bachfanwang

This New Yorker article is good to read.

The Earthquake That Will Devastate the Pacific Northwest

It even pointed out the exact time of the last big earthquake.

Finally, in a 1996 article in Nature, a seismologist named Kenji Satake and three colleagues, drawing on the work of Atwater and Yamaguchi, matched that orphan to its parent—and thereby filled in the blanks in the Cascadia story with uncanny specificity. At approximately nine o’ clock at night on January 26, 1700, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck the Pacific Northwest, causing sudden land subsidence, drowning coastal forests, and, out in the ocean, lifting up a wave half the length of a continent. It took roughly fifteen minutes for the Eastern half of that wave to strike the Northwest coast. It took ten hours for the other half to cross the ocean. It reached Japan on January 27, 1700: by the local calendar, the eighth day of the twelfth month of the twelfth year of Genroku.

This article was the most well written, informative, educational, and frightening, thing I have read in a long time, as relates to me, and the fact I live here! Uh...I want to leave now! YIKES!

Thanks for that article. Made me want to be a geologist or seismologist! And made me ask my husband "Any job openings within your company at other locations?" He said "I could go to China tomorrow" Hmm...earthquake study on China now...

Thanks again, great article.

[leastprime]

I'd be more worried with volcanoes, laars, ash falls, and disturbed dragons.

[Oregone]

So, located in the Appalachian Mountains ... I heard about this one on NPR today: Earthquake - Magnitude 6.5 - OFF COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - 2016 December 08, 14:49:47 UTC - That's right at bottom of the Juan De Fuca Plate - off the coast of Mendocino Ridge...

Some have asked if numerous quakes in 'the area' might alleviate stress and lesson the 'big one.' A Geologist said no, that the plate has a magnitude of stress on it far surpassing even 'a series' of smaller quakes.

Sure wish my family were out of there, too... My feeling is, the brightest folks in Oregon will sell out now (Now), take their inflated profits and head for solid ground. Otherwise ...good luck ~

[CAjerseychick]

All I can say I am so grateful I didn't sell outa California 20 years ago (like my florida relatives kept pressuring us to do)...
Circumstances did change and here I am-
I am good here for another 20- and if people are getting out d/t earthquake threats- that leaves more room for the rest of us!

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Oregone

So, located in the Appalachian Mountains ... I heard about this one on NPR today: Earthquake - Magnitude 6.5 - OFF COAST OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA - 2016 December 08, 14:49:47 UTC - That's right at bottom of the Juan De Fuca Plate - off the coast of Mendocino Ridge...

Some have asked if numerous quakes in 'the area' might alleviate stress and lesson the 'big one.' A Geologist said no, that the plate has a magnitude of stress on it far surpassing even 'a series' of smaller quakes.

Sure wish my family were out of there, too... My feeling is, the brightest folks in Oregon will sell out now (Now), take their inflated profits and head for solid ground. Otherwise ...good luck ~

Actually it was on the Gorda, a good distance south of the Juan de Fuca and the Blanco fracture zone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorda_Plate

these are frequent, even at that magnitude.
(public domain image)