Oregon Civil Air Patrol Initiates Response to Tsunami Drill

The CAP has performed similar missions around the Mt. Hood area, indicating key points for avalanches, debris flows and other geologic areas of concern.

This Oregon CAP Cessna 182 search aircraft partipated in last years DOGAMI survey of Mt. Hood. Offical CAP photo.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Oregon coastal communities are taking part in a simulated tsunami beginning Friday, and the Oregon Civil Air Patrol will be a participant in this unique exercise.

The statewide disaster drill is called Cascade Peril 09. Tom Traver with the Oregon CAP says it deals not only with the tsunami, but with the underlying 9.0 Megaquake that caused it.

The exercise, which is taking place from Friday to Tuesday, involves numerous public, government and volunteer agencies, and is based on recent historical and scientifc studies that indicate such huge, wide scale megaquakes have occured much more frequently than previously belived and a repeat is due within our current lifetimes.

The Civil Air Patrol, operating out of their Aurora State Airport Incident Command Post, will have their fleet of 6 specially equipped Cessna 182 search and rescue aircraft, air crews and ground personnel participating across the state, Traver said.

"While aircraft and aircrews will primarily launch and conduct specific missions from their home bases, operations will be coordinated from the CAP ICP at Aurora."

He says working in support of various state agencies, the CAP will primarily be conducting aerial reconnaissance including high resolution digital photography of key infrastructure facilities such as dams, highways, bridges as well as overall damage assesments on Friday and Saturday.

Working with the Department of Geology and Minerals last summer, the CAP performed similar missions around the Mt. Hood area, indicating key points for avalanches, debris flows and other geologic areas of concern.

For more information on the Civil Air Patrol and it's missions, please go to gocivilairpatrol.com.