1996 High Water Flood: Difference between revisions
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=== Authority === | === Authority === | ||
Chapter 15.04 of the City Code outlines the authority of the Portland Office of Emergency Management under the direction of the Mayor and supervised by the Fire Chief. The code outlines the authority of the Portland Office of Emergency Management during a declared disaster and in preparation for a disaster. | Chapter 15.04 of the City Code outlines the authority of the Portland Office of Emergency Management under the direction of the Mayor and supervised by the Fire Chief. The code outlines the authority of the Portland Office of Emergency Management during a declared disaster and in preparation for a disaster. | ||
=== Introduction === | |||
''"In Downtown Portland, the Willamette crested at 28.6 feet, the top of the harbor wall. Downstream, the Columbia hissed at double the normal current - half again bigger than the Mississippi.'' | |||
''Thousands lined the waterfront for a peek at the Willamette, awash in logs and heartache. The river's power was humbling. A line from T.S. Eliot echoed: 'I do not know much about gods; but I think that the river is a strong brown god - sullen, untamed and intractable.''' | |||
''Floodwaters tore through Tualatin, Oregon City and Lake Oswego. Rising waters and tumbling hillsides isolated Tillamook and devastated the Columbia County towns of Vernonia, Clatskanie and Mist.'' | |||
''Mud and ruin spilled, but a curious value surfaced. The flood bound people in ways urban life rarely does. Volunteers erected a plywood barrier along Portland's harbor wall. Strangers hauled furniture for people they'll never meet again. Convicts loaded sandbags.'' | |||
''Young people led the way. Students from Milwaukie and Rex Putnam high schools reached out to Oak Grove. West Linn students sandbagged a flooded restaurant in arch rival Oregon City. Oregon City, Lake Oswego and Tigard students traded schoolbooks for shovels.'' | |||
''Across Oregon, selfless acts knit a new definition of community. Under the worst conditions, many Oregonians put strangers first in the miracle that is the human spirit."'' | |||
February 18th Sunday Oregonian Special Section, Brian T. Meehan | |||
=== Disaster Policy Council === | |||
The Disaster Policy Council is responsible for making recommendations on City Policy to the Mayor. They are also to be the media contact, the liaison with federal, state and local officials, provide necessary resources and make policy decisions. They prioritize resource allocation for the City's coordinated effort to respond, mitigate, prepare and recover from disasters. The Disaster Policy Council is also responsible for deciding what actions can be taken to ensure that the City's response is at its maximum capacity. | |||
The major concerns that surfaced during the event revolved around needed policies, training, and resources. The Disaster Policy Council needs to assure continuity of essential government services and allocate sufficient resources to their operations during a disaster. All City personnel need to be trained in their emergency response duties, including Managers and Supervisors, everyone must know what is expected of them, where they are to go and what they are to do in a professional and organized manner. | |||
=== Incident Commander === | |||
