PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A magnitude 8 to 9 Cascadia earthquake would cause as much as $2.6 billion damage in just a 6-mile area in Northwest Portland that stores 90% of the state’s fuel plus the jet fuel used at PDX, a new 130-page report shows.
The area is known as the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub and is built on unstable soil prone to liquefaction and lateral spreading in a major Cascadia quake, the report said.
The report showed the economic cost — to people, human health, property, navigation, fish, recreation, habitats, cleanup costs, fuel prices and more — would range between $359 million and $2.6 billion.
The report was released at 9 a.m. Monday by the Multnomah County Office of Sustainability and the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management. The focus of the report looked at “the far-reaching human and ecological costs of fuel releases from Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub in Northwest Portland in a Cascadia earthquake,” officials said.
ECONorthwest’s Laura Marshall, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury and Portland City Commissioner Carmen Rubio, Sen. Michael Denbrow and Rep. Dacia Grayber met with reporters to go over the findings and answer questions.
Last month, Dembrow introduced Senate Bill 1567 that “requires energy terminal owners to submit comprehensive seismic vulnerability assessments and risk mitigation plans” by June 1, 2024 to the Oregon DEQ. It also require the DEQ to make a better plan to protect the area for a seismic event.
Monday afternoon, SB 1567 will have a public hearing held by the Senate Energy and Environment committee. That meeting begins at 3:15 p.m.
KOIN 6 News will continue to follow this issue.