When disaster strikes, Benton County Emergency Manager Bryan Lee wants residents to be ready — and that starts with two simple steps.
“Really the No. 1 thing is making sure folks are registered for Linn-Benton Alert because that is the tool we’re going to use,” Lee said. “And then being two weeks ready — getting some preparedness together in a plan.”
Lee spoke at the Philomath Rotary Club meeting Tuesday before sitting down for an interview to discuss local hazards and preparedness gaps.
The alert system has been in place since 2013, but registration rates remain stubbornly low. Lee said only 25% of Benton County’s residents are “actually registered” to receive alerts.
“That’s some of the higher numbers in the state,” he said, “but that’s still very low.”
Lee added that each member of a household needs their own account to receive notifications and offered a simple way to know if you’re in the system.
“Around daylight savings, if you’re getting those (test) alerts, good news, you’re in the system,” he said.
Lee, who is a Philomath resident himself, also encourages residents to be “two weeks ready” — stocked with at least two weeks of drinking water, food, medication and other essentials. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management provides an online “Be 2 Weeks Ready” tool kit that can be downloaded.
When it comes to hazards facing the Philomath area, Lee said wildfire, earthquakes and winter storms top the list — though he noted the community’s location along the Coast Range offers some buffer from wildfire compared to other parts of Oregon.
“Everyone’s really concerned about wildfire — it’s always a very concerning risk,” Lee said. “However, our wildfire risk is relatively low compared to other areas. That does not mean we’re not taking it seriously, especially with a wind-driven event.”
Winter storms have become an increasing concern. Lee said ice storms in particular can catch residents off guard.
“Those freezing rains that build up all that ice, those are actually becoming a bigger concern for us because they sort of sneak up on us,” he said. “And then now everything’s covered in an inch-thick layer of ice.”
As for earthquakes, the potential for a massive Cascadia Subduction Zone disaster along the Pacific Coast always attracts interest in such programs. The topic has been well documented in recent years and the projected impacts for the Willamette Valley make for sobering reading.
“I always have to plug the earthquake because it’s a big hazard,” Lee said. “It’s the No. 1 national security threat in terms of natural disasters mainly because it can impact all the way from Northern California up to British Columbia.”
Lee cited information published in 2013 by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, painting a picture of prolonged disruption in the event of a major Cascadia event.
“Looking at the valley floor, specifically, electricity being out for one to two months,” Lee said, mentioning just a few examples of impacts. “We’re talking about electricity on the coast, three to six months. Law enforcement and fire stations in the valley, two to four months before they’re truly back to full operations.”
Lee said the most significant challenge in emergency management isn’t resources or planning — it’s the individual household level.
“A lot of households don’t have preparedness supplies, they’re not signing up for alerts, they don’t know what they need to start on,” he said. “People don’t know what they don’t know.”
Complacency is the other major obstacle.
“Thinking, ‘oh, that’s never happened in my lifetime’ or ‘I haven’t seen or felt it so it’s not going to happen’ — that’s the other one that will get people,” Lee said.