Carol McAlice Currie

Statesman Journal

A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the day of the Prepare Fair. It will be held Saturday, April 8 at North Salem High School.

A year-long effort to raise personal awareness and preparation for a sizable natural disaster culminates Saturday with a Prepare Fair at North Salem High School.

The fair will include two screenings of the OPB documentary "Unprepared," which asks if Oregonians will be ready for as long as two weeks without help when a megaquake strikes. A Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, expected to be in the 8.7 to 9.2 range, qualifies as a megaquake.

The fair will also include information on how to prepare, and opportunities to buy some of the supplies needed to build an emergency preparedness kit.

When the Mid-Willamette Emergency Communications Collaborative started early last year, ideas sprang from Alan Bushong of CCTV, city of Salem folks including Mike Gotterba and Roger Stevenson, and county representative Ed Flick.

Think Big: Read about creating yourpreparedness kit

The small group then brought together a larger representation, which included the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, the American Red Cross Cascades region, CERT (Certified Emergency Response Team), the Statesman Journal, the Polk County Itemizer-Observer, KMUZ radio, NW Natural, SEDCOR, PCUN, Salem Health, the Salem-Keizer School District and others.

The collaborative's goals were to increase the community's personal preparedness. If the community's response is any indication, group members say, the goals have been met.

The Statesman Journal has given away ten 72-hour kits provided by the state Office of Emergency Management to community members who completed an online survey about their preparedness. All but one had a kit at home, assembled and ready to use.

The Prepare Fair screenings of "Unprepared" will be at 10 a.m. and noon April 8 in the high school's auditorium, 765 14th St. NE. The fair will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Parking will be available in the D Street NE lot, and a food truck will be in the parking lot. No food is allowed in the auditorium.

Both film screenings will be followed by a question and answer session with representatives of the Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The family friendly event is free.

Emailccurrie@StatesmanJournal.com; call 503-399-6746 or follow on Twitter @CATMCurrie