2024 EERI Annual Meeting (2024AM)

Cascadia Subduction Zone (particularly topics of broad national/international interest)

Critical energy infrastructure (CEI) such as tank farms and distribution networks makes fuel and other petroleum products available to over 145,000 gas stations and 5,000 airports across the country. For economic and logistical reasons, these facilities are often located in coastal and riverine regions that are susceptible to co-seismic ground failure under earthquakes. Flammable and toxic content in these facilities poses significant cascading risk after initial damage and failure. One salient example is the CEI hub located in Portland, Oregon. The hub supplies 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel. The CEI hub extends 9 km on the Willamette River on young alluvial soils and non-engineered fill soils. Most of the CEI hub was developed prior to the understanding of hazard from a Cascadia Subduction Zone event. There is significant concern that strong shaking and widespread liquefaction will have devastating impacts from damaged CEI facilities, fuel spills and combustion, and fuel shortages. This session will focus on major challenges related to the engineering analysis, risk assessment, and mitigation planning for the CEI hub and similar facilities. Specific topics will include: (1) an overview of the resilience challenges for such facilities; (2) past, present and future efforts by public agencies and government to improve resilience at the CEI hub; and (3) modeling and risk assessment of cascading events.