The City of Portland will simulate a terrorist attack all of this week as part of a disaster preparedness exercise organized by the Portland Office of Emergency Management.
This exercise is part of the TOPOFF 4 (Top Officials) program and is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security. Similar exercises will be taking place concurrently in Phoenix, Ariz. and the U.S. territory of Guam.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement late last month describing the events as “the largest and most comprehensive counter-terrorism exercise to date.” It also stated that, “TOPOFF 4 will involve more than 15,000 participants from all levels of government, international partners and the private sector in a full-scale, simulated response to radiological dispersal device attacks.”
The scenario is this: sometime between the Oct. 15th and Oct. 19th, a terrorist group will detonate a “dirty bomb” on the Steel Bridge. PSU’s Emergency Planning Team Coordinator Bob Grist, said students shouldn’t worry-the event “essentially should not affect PSU students.”
Although the Portland State Office of Emergency Management will be observing the event, and not actively participating, the office will use this opportunity to conduct what it calls a “functional exercise” to assess the college’s preparedness and usefulness in the event of a real disaster situation.
“If PSU was involved, how would we respond and how could we help?” said Grist.
He also said that it is in PSU’s interest to provide support for local partners such as the City of Portland, Port of Portland, and regional hospitals. Grist said the campus itself could prove useful as a triage site or simply a safe-haven for displaced citizens.
“This is an opportunity to say ‘what if’…and play it with the best info we have,” Grist said.
Grist also said that an exercise like TOPOFF “…never tests people, it tests planning.”
“We know we have weaknesses. We want to learn to fix them,” Grist said. “This is an opportunity to see how everyone plays together nicely.”