Japan Earthquake impacts Oregon Planning, Feb 22

Aftershocks of Japan disaster being felt in U.S. earthquake planning
The repercussions of last year’s subduction zone earthquake and tsunami in Japan are now being felt in the Pacific Northwest, as experts and disaster managers better understand the enormous risks facing this region, plan for the challenges ahead and prioritize the most urgent needs.  Before the event, scientists knew that similar concerns faced Oregon, Washington, northern California and British Columbia from the Cascadia Subduction Zone. But they have now seen how such long-lasting events produce soil “liquefaction” far worse than expected, the potential for devastated roads and bridges, a collapsed infrastructure and even threats to their economic future.  “Just in Oregon we’ve got a billion dollar problem, but we don’t have a billion dollars,” said Scott Ashford, professor and interim dean of the College of Engineering at Oregon State University, and one of the international engineering experts who toured the affected area in Japan last year shortly after the disaster.  “The challenge for Oregon and our neighboring states is to prioritize the concerns, and figure out some way to preserve the most critical lifelines – key roads, airports, port facilities and utility networks,” Ashford said.