Every fall, millions of people across the globe “drop, cover, and hold on” at work, school, or home in preparation for a major seismic event. This year, you can join Oregon State Treasury in practicing earthquake safety during the Great Shakeout on October 19 at 10:19 a.m. PDT.
Practiced around the world in seismically active regions, the annual shakeout drill is especially important in Oregon as parts of the state are situated within the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that experts say is overdue for a megaquake. To help Oregonians prepare for an emergency and practice earthquake safety year-round, the Great Shakeout coordinates the annual drill and provides valuable resources on their website at www.shakeout.org/oregon. Notable online resources include:
“We don’t know when an earthquake will come, but we know what it can do,” said Treasurer Read. “The Great ShakeOut is an essential way for us all to get ready at home and at work. We need to learn the lessons and get prepared for any emergency we may face.”
Oregon State Treasury understands the importance of being prepared for a natural disaster so we can properly respond and maintain essential services. This was central in the development of our new Treasury Resiliency Building at Mill Creek in Salem.
In addition to withstanding a 9.0 earthquake, the Treasury Resiliency Building was designed to endure, with a myriad of resilient features such as air-filtration systems to keep ash out of the building during a wildfire, on-site solar energy production with back-up emergency power in the event of a major power outage, emergency water and septic systems, and more. The result of this planning is a 34,000 square foot building that is capable of being immediately usable following a natural disaster and more sustainable overall during normal operations.
The resilient Treasury building ensures that we are able to meet the state’s financial needs even after a major catastrophe. While much of Treasury’s work happens behind the scenes, it’s necessary to support the more visible responsibilities of state government. We process billions of dollars in banking transactions on behalf of state agencies, coordinate the distribution of payments, such as retirement checks and SNAP benefits, and manage several state and local investment funds. Ensuring that money still flows through state government in the event of a major emergency is what we call no-fail work – it’s our responsibility to make sure it gets done, no matter what.
“Having a building that would support Treasury’s functions throughout any kind of disaster is what we we’re aimed at,” Deputy Treasurer, Michael Kaplan said.
We look forward to participating alongside millions of Oregonians and individuals across the globe on October 19 during the Great Shakeout Drill and encourage everyone to practice earthquake safety and preparedness throughout the year!
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