‘Pacific Peril’

The US Department of Transportation in cooperation with Federal, State, local, and Canadian partners will host ‘Pacific Peril 06’ from 23-25 May 2006 at Camp Rilea on the NW Oregon Coast. The three-day event will consist of a training day presenting earthquake and tsunami hazards and response plans; a full day Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a final day table top review.

The exercise postulates a catastrophic seismic event that triggers a massive tsunami that devastates Pacific coastal communities from British Columbia to northern California.

According to Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator and Regional Emergency Transportation Coordinator (RETCO) Douglas R. Murphy, the exercise is designed to challenge participants with a high consequence scenario in order to better assess the effectiveness of existing response plans.

“Experts agree that the likelihood of a massive earthquake and tsunamis wave is very real, and speak in terms of not if, but when. Our critical infrastructure is vulnerable, and advance preparation is the key to a successful response,” said Murphy.

The goals of Pacific Peril 06 are to improve the region’s capacity to manage extreme events; create broader frameworks for the operation of expert crisis and consequence management systems; validate authorities, strategies, plans, policies, procedures, and protocols; and test the effectiveness of state, federal and local government coordination in responding to catastrophic transportation system disruptions.

•Date: 9th May 2006 • Region: N.America • Type: Article •Topic: Emergency planning
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