"Pacific Peril" - 3 Day Multi-State Tsunami Exercise Begins 23 May, 2006
Release Date: May 8, 2006
Release Number: R10-06-011
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SEATTLE, Wash. -- The U.S. Department of Transportation in cooperation with Federal, State, local, and Canadian partners will host PACIFIC PERIL 06 from 23-25 May 2006 at Camp Rilea on the NW Oregon Coast. The three-day event will consist of a “training day” presenting earthquake and tsunami hazards and response plans, a full day Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a final table top review. The exercise play postulates a catastrophic seismic event that triggers a massive tsunami that devastates Pacific coastal communities from British Columbia to northern California. The Government of Canada, including the Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver, are also engaged in exercise play.
According to Federal Aviation Administration Regional Administrator and Regional Emergency Transportation Coordinator (RETCO) Douglas R. Murphy, the exercise is designed to challenge participants with a high consequence scenario in order to better assess the effectiveness of existing response plans. “Experts agree that the likelihood of a massive earthquake and tsunamis wave is very real, and speak in terms of not if, but when. Our critical infrastructure is vulnerable, and advance preparation is the key to a successful response,” said Murphy.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA Regional Director John Pennington agrees. “Emergency incidents are handled on a daily basis at the local level, but the challenges of responding to truly catastrophic disasters rapidly exceed the capabilities of any one community or state,” said Pennington. “In any disaster, coordination, planning, and unity of response are the key determinates of success. Exercises like PACIFIC PERIL help us validate, correct and improve our joint response capabilities.”
The goals of PACIFIC PERIL 06 are to improve the region’s capacity to manage extreme events; create broader frameworks for the operation of expert crisis and consequence management systems; validate authorities, strategies, plans, policies, procedures, and protocols; and test the effectiveness of state, federal and local government coordination in responding to catastrophic transportation system disruptions. Participating agencies include U.S. Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security and Defense, the United States Coast Guard, the states of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, as well as federal and provincial agencies from Canada.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Monday, 08-May-2006 11:19:00