The recent outbreak of COVID-19 is a good example of how fast diseases can travel and become pandemics.  The following links are excellent sources for current status and how to prepare for pandemics along with seasonal illnesses.

• Skamania County Community Health
• Washington State Department of Health
• U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC)

These are the Man-made disasters in the Gorge that are most likely:

• Railway – There is a train through the Gorge approximately every 30 minutes.  Train wrecks involving hazardous chemicals, fires, or passenger injury.
• Highway – There are thousands of trucks traveling through the Gorge every day.  Many of these trucks carry hazardous materials.
• Waterway– Many barges travel up and down the Columbia River.  Some carry hazardous materials.  There is also the potential for barge/bridge accidents.

Storms and other weather events are the most common natural threat we need to be prepared for in the Gorge.

• Snow and ice storms
• Heavy rain
• Thunderstorms
• High winds

Summer through fall is wildfire season.  We have many resources available in Skamania County to help us prepare:

• Underwood Conservation District has programs to help analyze your property for fire danger and to help get rid of possible wildfire fuel through a free chipping service.
• Inciweb is a multi-agency website for information about current wildfires.
• The National Weather Service (NWC) Portland gives us warnings when we have elevated risk of wildfire.  Warnings are given by the fire weather zone you are in. Most of Skamania County is fire weather zone 660 but the southeast corner is in zone 639.

An earthquake caused by the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) is the most significant disaster that we face in Skamania County.  Below are some links to provide more information:

• “Possible Incidents and Events in Skamania County, Washington, That Could Result from a Magnitude 9 (M9) Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) Earthquake”, April 2015, Thomas Pierson, USGS
• “The Really Big One”, New Yorker Magazine, July 2015 – an eye-opening article on just how devastating a CSZ earthquake/tsunami will be.
• “Unprepared – WILL WE BE READY FOR THE MEGAQUAKE” – an OPB webpage with lots of pertinent information for all of us.
• The Big One: A Northwest Earthquake Survival Guide, Portland Monthly, July 2014 – more info on the CSZ and how to prepare for it.