Hood River County Emergency Management prepares for, coordinates response and logistical support, mitigation and community recovery for natural and man-made disasters and large scale emergencies.
Hood River County Emergency Management prepares for, coordinates response and logistical support, mitigation and community recovery for natural and man-made disasters and large scale emergencies.
The Great ShakeOut is an earthquake drill designed to help Oregonians practice how to "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" during an earthquake.
This year's International ShakeOut Day is October 16, when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or home.
At 10:16 a.m. (local time) on 10/16, you can join people across Oregon practicing earthquake safety.
The USGS ShakeAlert® Earthquake Early Warning System is an earthquake detection tool, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), that uses science and technology to detect significant earthquakes so alerts can be delivered to people on their cell phones before damaging shaking arrives at their location. ShakeAlert can save lives and reduce injuries by giving people seconds to take protective action, such as Drop, Cover and Hold On, or to move away from hazardous areas if they feel shaking or get an alert.
Chances are that your cell phone is ShakeAlert Ready when strong shaking is expected near you. Here’s how to check:
If you feel shaking or get an alert, immediately Drop, Cover, and Hold On, or take another protective action, depending on your situation.
The MyShake app will receive a test alert on October 16. Install before 10:16 a.m. to receive the alert.
Over the past year, Hood River County Emergency Management has been working to update the county's Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan.
We worked with Oregon's Departments of Forestry, Emergency Management, Geology and Mineral Industries, and Transport; the cities and ports of Hood RIver and Cascade Locks, special districts, fire departments, and all County departments to create a comprehensive document.
This work was funded by a FEMA grant, and was developed in partnership with the Oregon Partnership for Diasaster Resilience.
The plan outlines community risk for natural hazards and actions local agencies can take to reduce risks BEFORE the next wildfire, winter storm, flood or earthquake.
For this plan we added two new hazards: extreme heat and air quality / smoke.
The team ranked the natural hazards by both the liklihood of an event and its impact to the community:
We also recognized that the county faces an urgent and specific risk from wildfire. We therefore included an update Community Wildfire Protection Plan as a volume within the NHMP. This means that we have an integrated plan that includes specific actions to help to mitigate the risk from wildfire.
You can read the entire NHMP by selecting the volumes below.
Hood River County NHMP Volume I 2025 Basic Plan
Hood River County NHMP Volume III 2025 Jurisdictional Addenda
Hood River County NHMP Volumes I-IV 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plan
Hood River County Emergency Management is a regional resource - we partner with Cities, Counties, Fire Departments, 911, schools, medical, health and other first response agencies Gorge-wide, to prepare our region for large scale emergencies and disasters. We are staffed by trained volunteers and partner staffs that are not responding to the incident.
The Hood River County EOC (Emergency Operations Center) activates in large scale emergencies and disasters, to help the community and augment first responders.
We are the direct link to partner with, and access additional regional, state and federal support.
We manage grants, disaster planning and programs that enhance our county's readiness and response. We help citizens and businesses prepare for emergencies and disasters.
Citizens and businesses are encouraged to be self-sufficient for up to 3 weeks, should an emergency or disaster occur.
We are here for you - and we also appreciate you doing your part to prepare your family for emergencies.