Beaverton emergency manager outlines activations, volunteer capacity and plan to formalize interdepartmental steering group

Nicole Cutchan, Beaverton’s emergency manager, told the City Council that Emergency Management has activated the city’s Emergency Operations Center nine times in the past eight months and is working to strengthen planning, staffing and partnerships.

Cutchan said the nine activations included weather events (severe thunderstorms and extreme winter weather), two severe heat incidents, an activation for an air-quality event during a parade, a citywide exercise and a response to a threat incident at a middle school. “Emergency Management is now under the Police Department,” Cutchan said, and described duties that include monitoring, coordinating warnings, supporting first responders and readying volunteers to staff cooling or warming centers.

The presentation listed volunteer capacity and training as…