PORT ANGELES — Former state Rep. Jim Buck will lead a pair of disaster preparedness presentations at the Port Angeles library this month.
The first talk Jan. 22 — Port Angeles After the Earthquake — will focus on the devastation expected between Morse Creek and the Elwha River after a major earthquake hits the Cascadia subduction zone or major inland fault.
The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. in the Raymond Carver Room at the Port Angeles Library at 2210 S. Peabody St.
The second presentation Jan. 31 — Camping In Your House — will provide insight on how to shelter in place after a natural disaster.
That talk also will begin at 6 p.m. in the library’s Raymond Carver Room.
Clallam County emergency management officials say the public should be prepared to shelter in place for up to 30 days after a magnitude-9.0 Cascadia earthquake and resulting tsunami.
The last major earthquake on the 800-mile long Cascadia subduction zone off the Northwest coast occurred Jan. 26, 1700, scientists say. They say that it is not a matter of if but when the next quake will strike.
Geologists believe there is a 10 percent chance that another 9.0 earthquake will happen in the next 50 years.
Buck and Clallam County Fire District No. 3 officials have been warning the public and local governments about the Cascadia disaster in a series of After the Earthquake presentations in recent months.
“Unless people are capable of sheltering in place, then the whole effort falls apart,” Buck said in a Jan. 3 interview.
Port Angeles After the Earthquake will include maps of liquefaction, landslide and tsunami hazard areas.
Micro islands and sub-micro islands will be created when bridges collapse and culverts fail, isolating neighborhoods from emergency services and supplies.
Historical photographs will depict vulnerabilities in the city’s infrastructure. Evacuation routes from downtown Port Angeles, a tsunami zone and liquefaction hazard area, will be highlighted.
Camping In Your House is a new presentation that will focus on ways to be self sufficient in the days and weeks after a disaster, Buck said.
Topics will include how to pitch a tent in a dry room in your home, how to do repairs after an earthquake and taking care of day-to-day needs such as food, water and sanitation, Buck said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
