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USAID rescue workers inspect the site of collapsed buildings after an earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 12.

(AP Photo/Bikram Rai)

By Yumei Wang, Alice Wiewel and Heidi Moawad

Three weeks ago, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal devastated this remote mountainous nation, collapsing buildings, world cultural monuments and killing thousands. Although the Nepalese quake may seem like a distant threat to us in the Pacific Northwest, an earthquake from our Cascadia Fault is just as certain and unpredictable. Scientists estimate we have a 40 percent chance of a magnitude 8.0 quake or larger in the next 50 years. Unlike Nepal, we are not burdened by extreme poverty and isolation, nor a dysfunctional government. Our economy is growing, our communities connected and our government is stable.

But we are far from prepared.

Since the 1990s, the public sector has led the revision of building codes, emergency planning and hazard mapping. In the 2000s, government focused on public schools, universities and emergency response facilities, mandating earthquake drills and awarding grants for earthquake retrofits. State government's newest initiative involves evaluating its critical buildings and offices to understand risk and prioritize fixes that are most needed.

But government can't do it alone. Localities can and will set up emergency shelters and emergency provisions, but it is far better for citizens to have safe buildings and be self-sufficient during disasters. Cascadia preparedness requires people to "lean in". Eighty-five percent of buildings and infrastructure is privately owned. Homes and businesses need to be earthquake-ready, which will require strengthening of many pre-1995 buildings. According to the Oregon Resilience Plan, Oregonians should stockpile food, water, medicinal and emergency supplies to shelter-in-place for as long as three weeks until help arrives. Families need to have those tough conversations to plan for the what-if's to manage the unknown.

State leadership is building resilience capacity throughout Oregon -- so when nature's forces and Oregonians come together, we will all be ready. Under Gov. Kate Brown, the newly established Resilience Cabinet will coordinate state resources. Its first project, the Oregon Rural Resilience Incubator, part of a federal resilience grant application, builds resilience by rapid prototyping solutions possible in a rural community setting that can be replicated across the state. If funded, the first two communities to pilot the program will be Brookings, damaged by the 2011 Japan tsunami, and Reedsport, which suffers from chronic flooding and high unemployment.

We need to make resilience part of our world view and make the investments necessary so that we not only recover from disruption, but thrive. How do we tackle a task of this scale? The Oregon way: through collaboration, resourcefulness and imagination. Oregon's private sector, non-profits and government have already worked together in a sustained way over two decades.

Oregonians are makers and doers with pioneering spirit. We need to harness our creative energy to build resilience -- our newest challenge.

Yumei Wang is a resilience engineer, and Alice Wiewel is Oregon state architect. Both are with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. Heidi Moawad is the governor's public safety policy adviser.