Portland Emergency Kit — Personalized for Your Risks

Local Hazard History

Portland's largest threat is the one it can't see coming. Offshore lies the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 700-mile fault that the USGS warns can produce a magnitude-9.0+ megaquake and tsunami; the last full rupture was on January 26, 1700, and scientists expect a major Cascadia quake to cut off roads, water, and power across the region for weeks when it strikes. Two other hazards already arrive most summers. In the June 2021 heat dome, Portland reached an all-time record 116°F on June 28 — nine degrees beyond any temperature in the city's recorded history — and the heat killed 72 people in Multnomah County alone, with at least 96 deaths across Oregon. Just months earlier, in September 2020, the Riverside Fire in nearby Clackamas County drove about 40,000 people from their homes and pushed Portland's air quality to roughly 314 on the AQI — briefly the worst of any major city on Earth. Winter brings the metro's fourth hazard: ice storms, like the February 2021 storm that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands across the region.

When Risk Peaks

• Year-round: A Cascadia earthquake can strike at any time, with no warning — the single hazard to plan hardest for
• Jun–Sep: Extreme-heat risk; the deadly 2021 heat dome peaked in late June, and most Portland homes have no air conditioning
• Jul–Oct: Wildfire season in the Cascades; even when the city doesn't burn, smoke can foul the air for days to weeks
• Dec–Feb: Ice storms and the occasional heavy snow that down trees, close roads, and cause multi-day power outages

What to Pack for Portland

Portland's mix of a looming megaquake and yearly heat and smoke means preparing for both the long haul and the next heat wave:

• For the Cascadia earthquake, officials urge two weeks of self-sufficiency, not 72 hours: store water and food where you have room, keep sturdy shoes and gloves by every bed for broken glass, and secure water heaters and tall furniture now
• For extreme heat: have a plan to stay cool if you have no AC — know your nearest cooling center, and don't rely on a fan alone once it's above ~95°F
• For wildfire smoke: keep N95/KN95 respirators for everyone and a portable HEPA air cleaner (or a DIY box-fan filter) to keep one room breathable
• Two weeks of water and food where possible, plus medications, for a quake; 3+ days minimum for ice storms and smoke events
• A battery or hand-crank NOAA weather radio for heat, fire-weather, and winter-storm warnings, and documents in a grab-and-go pouch

Local Resources

• Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM) — City preparedness, Cascadia earthquake planning, and Neighborhood Emergency Teams (NETs).
• Multnomah County Office of Emergency Management — Countywide alerts, cooling and warming centers, and Public Alerts emergency notifications.
• Oregon Department of Emergency Management — Statewide preparedness for earthquakes, wildfire, heat, and winter storms, plus the 2 Weeks Ready program.
• NWS Portland — Local forecasts and excessive-heat, fire-weather, and winter-storm warnings.