Cascadia Quake Prep: What’s Left to Do | Seattle News

The Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake looms — a magnitude 7.4+ quake expected every 500 years — and experts warn most state buildings in the Northwest won’t survive. While progress has been made retrofitting key sites like Portland’s airport and Capitol, and Governor Kotek mandates seismic upgrades for state infrastructure over the next 35 years, the pace is too slow. Vital routes like Highway 101 are at risk of collapse, threatening coastal communities. Microgrids and battery storage are critical for grid resilience, but the Bonneville Power Administration’s late adoption of seismic codes and lack of funding hinder progress. The Port of Portland needs nearly half a billion dollars to upgrade runways — a cost that could save billions in recovery. Engineers and resilience officers stress urgent, coordinated action: fix bridges, build disaster response teams, and force stronger collaboration among municipalities, state leaders, and infrastructure stakeholders before “The Big One” strikes. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/f340df61804fe53f