Science On Tap: Cascadia Earthquakes: Reality, Risks, and Improving Resilience

The Pacific Northwest is due for a major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and a magnitude 9 Cascadia earthquake and tsunami would likely produce an unprecedented catastrophe much larger than any disaster the state of Oregon has ever faced.

Oregon’s resilience to earthquakes is low, thus, preparing for a catastrophic disaster to become more resilient is needed to improve personal safety and safeguard communities and businesses. At this Science on Tap, Yumei Wang, engineer and geologist, will discuss Oregon’s earthquake setting, expected impacts from a Cascadia earthquake, and how Portlanders are preparing for “the really big one.”

Yumei Wang focuses on deficient infrastructure to improve community safety for Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis and extreme weather disasters. She consults on disaster resilience projects including to DEQ on their forthcoming fuel terminal safety regulation, is Affiliate Faculty Senior Advisor on Infrastructure Resilience and Risk at PSU, and served for 26 years in the State of Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Wang has conducted worldwide post-earthquake engineering damage assessments including the 2011 Tohoku, Japan and 2010 Maule, Chile disasters, and appeared in documentaries produced by OPB, NOVA, National Geographic, and Discovery. In 2022, she received the Public Service Award from The Geological Society of America, was named Engineer of the Year by the Professional Engineers of Oregon, and has served as a U.S. Congressional Fellow in Washington DC.


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