Additional Resources

Click on the category titles below to expand each list.

What to Expect From a Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake:
Make Plans, Build Kits, Build Community:
Water, Water, Water:
Utility Shutoff:
Home Hazard Hunt:
Neighborhood Hazard Maps:
Staying Informed:
School Preparedness:
Small Business Preparedness:
Earthquake Insurance:

“Generally speaking, wood-framed single family homes perform well in earthquakes. The problem is if the home either isn’t bolted to the foundation or has a weak or non-continuous foundation. Given the choice between doing a retrofit or buying insurance I would always advocate for the retrofit. Buying insurance does nothing to minimize the earthquake damage – it only transfers the risk. If you can afford insurance, then by all means do so. We retrofitted our 1906 home but I also have earthquake insurance. I pay about $475/year for earthquake insurance with a 15% deductible. Its worth it to me because I’m risk averse when it comes to my home. If you have a newer home, you don’t need to worry about retrofitting so the question becomes do you think your home will sustain damage equal to or greater than your insurance deductible. Some earthquake insurance policies have a 20% deductible. If you have a $350K  insured home with a 20% deductible – that’s $70K in damages before your insurance will kick in. Assuming you have a newer home, and no other secondary risks (landslide, liquefaction) – its highly unlikely your wood-framed home will sustain that much damage (and again – this is generally speaking). So, its really a matter of risk tolerance. I can’t speculate about the ability of the insurance market to pay out post-earthquake. We’ve not seen examples of that elsewhere but we’ve also never had a CSZ earthquake impacting three states simultaneously either.” — Carmen Merlo, Director of the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management

Training Opportunities:
Survival Skills:
Presentation Materials

Laura Hall’s “Earthquake Ready” slides