Depoe Bay committee reviews alert test, Sea Grant outreach and approves event funding

Depoe Bay's emergency preparedness committee spent significant time debriefing a recent regional earthquake/tsunami alert test and planning community outreach for upcoming preparedness events.

Members described uneven receipt of Everbridge alerts during the test and said some residents received a message that initially read "no tsunami expected," which caused confusion. Several members explained the difference between ShakeAlert (a phone-based earthquake alarm) and follow-up tsunami messaging and urged public education on how to enroll in Everbridge and interpret initial messages. One member summarized the trade-off: an earthquake-triggered alert can give residents roughly 20 minutes of lead time, which members said they prefer to having a delayed but more precise message.

The committee also welcomed Felicia from Oregon Sea Grant (introduced by staff) who described bilingual printed materials, a virtual-reality educational activity for children and a 'Catastrophic Event Playbook' that could be distributed at events. Felicia said she could staff a table at the March 15 community preparedness fair and provide partner resources and handouts.

On event logistics, the committee voted to authorize up to $1,500 from the emergency preparedness budget to cover refreshments, insurance and event-related expenses for a January 25 preparedness event. Staff will follow up on marketing materials, QR-code links to the city's emergency web pages and recruitment of partner tables for outreach.

Committee members also discussed how to improve community enrollment in alert systems and planned follow-up actions to distribute Everbridge sign-up instructions to residents and to demonstrate alert-system enrollment at in-person outreach events.