A great deal of information has been presented in recent years about the possible effects following a megathrust earthquake. FEMA, state and local emergency organizations have studied the possible scenarios extensively. It is important for communities to be aware of and understand this information in order to prepare for such a disaster.
The Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC), is jointly resourced by the I&A and Office of Infrastructure Protection, an office within the DHS National Protection and Programs Directorate. Its mission is to produce and disseminate timely analytic data in order to influence the development of infrastructure protection strategies. Information from HITRAC has helped us understand what is likely to occur with a Cascadia Subduction Zone megaquake. The findings suggest there will be no surviving ground routes to Washington State’s coastal region due to damaged bridges and highway systems. There will be a near total loss of cell phone, Internet, radio and TV access. We will have significant loss of emergency teams and firefighting response capability and a reduction in hospital capacity. Water and sewer systems will fail because of massive damage. Complete or severe damage to airports across the region west of Interstate 5 will further hamper relief efforts.
Click here to learn more about the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis and its mission and HITRAC integrated threat and risk analysis. The DHS HITRAC Center is the Department's infrastructure-intelligence fusion center, incorporating analysts from the Office of Infrastructure Protection and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. HITRAC is a joint intelligence center that spans both the DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) - a member of the Intelligence Community - and IP.
Click here to view an overview of the likely impacts to Clallam County and Port Angeles following a magnitude 9.0 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake , presented to the Port Angeles City Council in 2017. The presentation was meant to dispel rumors and provide as much fact as possible. One key fact: The CSZ is the only significant fault line on the Ring of Fire without a major quake in the last 50 years!
In recent years, summaries of HITRAC information has been presented in various formats to groups on the north Olympic Peninsula by dedicated volunteer citizens involved in preparing our county and region for a large scale disaster. Click here to view eight charts depicting the anticipated damage in Western Washington State following a CSZ earthquake - damage to Highways, Bridges, Communications, Fire Stations, Hospitals, Utilities, Senior Living Facilities and Air Transportation.