When the "Big One" hits Oregon, 10,000 could die

There is an earthquake advisory group in Oregon, officially the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission, that in February 2013 published a study of Oregon preparedness for the "Big One" to come as a result of the potential for a 9.0 quake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone.  The link to the study is here.

According to them,  the Cascadia Subduction Zone, just off the regional coastline, produced a mega-quake in the year 1700. Seismic experts say another monster quake and tsunami are overdue.  "This earthquake will hit us again," Kent Yu, an engineer and chairman of the commission, told lawmakers. "It's just a matter of how soon."

They predict over 10,000 deaths in Oregon and $32 Billion in economic damage.  That's a pretty devastating scenario.  Their report states "Available studies estimate fatalities ranging from 1,250 to more than 10,000 due to the combined effects of earthquake and tsunami, tens of thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged so extensively that they will require months to years of repair, tens of thousands of displaced households, more than $30 billion in direct and indirect economic losses (close to one - fifth of Oregon’s gross state product), and more than one million dump truck loads of debris."