Portland Prepares for the Big One

A new report identifies key actions for the city of Portland to prepare for the certainty of a large earthquake.

1 minute read

February 16, 2017, 12:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Portland

Sung Choi / Shutterstock

"The City Club of Portland has released a lengthy report from its Earthquake Resilience Research Committee and it looks like the city has its work cut out for it before the big one hits," reports Kale Williams.

The report, "Big Steps Before the Big One: How the Portland area can bounce back after a major earthquake" [pdf], identifies five areas of primary concern to the city's resilience in the event of a large earthquake: fuel, buildings, lifelines, people, and coordinated planning.

Portland is one of the cities located on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the subject of a frightening July 2015 freature in the New Yorker. The report by the City Club isn't the first step taken by the city to assess its earthquake readiness since that article shook everyone up. In May 2016, the city also released an interactive online map of the risk presented by specific buildings around the city.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 in The Oregonian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive