Bulletin E-Edition:
James Roddey, with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, is giving a talk Saturday on earthquakes in Oregon.
Submitted by James Roddey
Will Oregon see a major quake anytime soon?
By Nicole Santa Cruz / The Bulletin
Published: May 27. 2009 4:00AM PSTSometimes, when James Roddey talks to people about earthquakes, their eyes glaze over.
While Central Oregon hasn’t seen a large earthquake in about 300 years, the possibility of one keeps creeping up because of new scientific evidence, said Roddey, an earth sciences information officer with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
“It’s become almost a certainty that it’s going to happen within the next 50 years,” Roddey said.
And that’s why Roddey will give a talk Saturday at Central Oregon Community College, called “Earthquakes in Oregon: What Can Native American Myths and New Scientific Discoveries Tell Us About ‘The Big One?’” In the talk, Roddey will be using Native American myths and historical narratives to educate people on the possibility — and the danger — of an earthquake hitting Oregon’s Cascadia subduction zone, a 600-mile-long fault located 50 to 75 miles off the Oregon Coast that stretches from Vancouver Island to Northern California.
“This sounds maybe a little far-fetched for everyone in Central Oregon, but everybody visits the beach at some time,” Roddey said. “Having this knowledge is an important part of going to the beach in Oregon.”
Roddey said he tells the story of the Thunderbird versus the Killer Whale, a Native American tale that has been interpreted by seismologists to be a story about a great earthquake and tsunami.
In the story, the Killer Whale and the Thunderbird battle it out because the whale has been depriving the Earth of food.
The bird plucks the whale out of the water and drops it back in numerous times and causes a “great frothing” of the water.
Finally, the bird picks up the whale from the water and a match ensues on dry land, which causes the ground to shake, Roddey said.
“All of these stories are passed on,” he said.
In turn, passing down these stories helps people become more prepared for these types of earthquake and tsunami disasters.
Emergency preparedness is important in these situations, Roddey said.
He estimates that an Oregon earthquake could affect more than 10 million people stretching from Northern California to British Columbia, with thousands of fatalities in Oregon, and tens of thousands of injuries and people who will need shelter.
But Roddey said his talk won’t all be scary. Besides the historical tales and Native American myths, he said he uses Indian chants as well.
“I try to keep it entertaining without being too scary,” Roddey said.
Roddey’s lessons won’t just be focused on earthquakes, but how to prepare for any sort of emergency.
“If you’re prepared for an earthquake, you’re prepared for anything,” he said.
People should be prepared by putting together an emergency kit, Roddey said.
“It’s pretty basic stuff that everybody has heard but most people ignore,” he said. A kit should include food and water for three days.
Oregon coastal communities are not the only ones preparing, either.
Don Webber, the emergency manager for Deschutes County, said the county is putting together an emergency plan to deal with such an occurrence.
“We have the Cascades to buffer it,” he said. “But we will feel it.”
He said Deschutes County needs an emergency plan because supplies coming from the Willamette Valley will come to a stop and mountain passes will be closed.
Deschutes County is beginning the process of planning a mega shelter, he said.
“It won’t be an event that, in a couple days it’s all over,” he said. “It will be a historical event. It will be a life-changing event in one form or another.
“If you don’t have supplies on your shelves, you become part of the problem.”
ARTICLE ACCESS: This article is among those available to all readers. Many more articles are available only to E-Edition members. Sign up today!
blog comments powered by Disqus
