Applying Geoscience to Public Safety

Jeff Rubin, Emergency Manager Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue

Tigard, Oregon

Lahars: Preparing for Volcanic Landslides

Why does this matter?

!  Life safety !  Critical infrastructure

"  Transportation: road, rail, river "  Water: Bull Run

!  Environmental: Columbia and Deschutes Rivers, forest

!  Economic: homes, businesses, access, agriculture

!  Social fabric

How can we apply the science?

!  Defining hazard and impact !  Identifying population at risk !  Assessing strategies to address risk !  Communicating with public and

decision-makers

(USGS, 2000)

Who’s at risk? (USGS: Mathie &Wood, 2013)

Who’s at risk?

(USGS: Mathie &Wood, 2013)

Mt. Hood lahar property losses

(PSU: Chappell, Dettlaff, Utz, 2009)

Basic risk-reduction strategies (Pierson, Wood, Driedger, 2014)

Communicating the science

!  Essential for informed decision-making, community buy-in "  Land use "  Hazard education "  Warning

!  Difficult to grasp low-frequency, high-impact events "  We tend to focus on what’s right in

front of us

Communicating the science

Scientists

Decision-makers

Communicating the risk

!  Technology matters "  Mapping "  Monitoring "  Warning

!  More than “just the facts” "  What does a warning mean? "  Social science: risk perception "  Uncommon measures vs. daily routine

Jeff Rubin, PhD, CEM Emergency Manager

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue jeff.rubin@tvfr.com

www.tvfr.com