Rehearsal for Mega-quake, Tsunami Starts in Northwest

CAMP MURRAY, Wash. (AP) — The Pacific Northwest kicks off a massive earthquake and tsunami drill as part of a multiday event to rehearse scenarios on how the region would deal with a dual natural disaster.

The four-day event, called Cascadia Rising, begins Tuesday.

Federal officials say about 20,000 people will be involved in the disaster drill, representing various federal agencies, the U.S. military, and state and local emergency response managers from Washington, Oregon and Idaho, Native American tribes and emergency management officials in British Columbia.

One main goal of the exercise is to test how well they will work together to minimize loss of life and damages when a mega-quake of 9.0 rips along the Cascadia Subduction Zone and unleashes a tsunami. More than 8 million people live in the zone, which contains the most heavily populated areas of the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and Portland.