Lessons from a Tucson neighborhood that turned rainwater into shade, trees and community resilience.
     What if one of the most valuable resources in your neighborhood is falling from the sky—and you’re simply letting it wash down the storm drain?
     That’s the question raised by the fascinating YouTube video “FREE Water was ILLEGAL…He Changed That…”, in which permaculture educator Andrew Millison visits Tucson, Arizona, to explore the work of rainwater-harvesting pioneer Brad Lancaster. Lancaster and his neighbors transformed parts of Tucson’s Dunbar/Spring neighborhood by capturing rain and street runoff and using it to grow trees. 
It’s about looking at a problem differently, experimenting locally, getting neighbors involved—and eventually changing the way a community manages water.
For a disaster-ready neighborhood, there are some powerful lessons here. 

What's in the big green box on the field at the Cedar Hills Rec Center? It’s the new Cedar Hills Emergency Resiliency Hub. Through grant funding from the 2023 Oregon Legislature, our community was able to site a big box container as an emergency communication and resource center to better help our community recover during and after a major disaster. The Emergency Hub is part of an overall vision of community resiliency that starts with family and neighborhood preparedness. We encourage you to get prepared--Be 2 Weeks Ready—at home and with neighbors. 
The Emergency Hub will be used for practice exercises to help our community prepare, and it can provide a gathering place for people to connect with others and coordinate help during a disaster. We depend on volunteers. Contact us if you would like to join us as a volunteer. 
We celebrated the opening of the Resiliency Hub on April 26, 2026, which including speakers and informational booths from a variety of agencies and cultural performances organized by the Oregon Chinese Coalition. 
Our hub came from the collaboration of several organizations, including Oregon Chinese Coalition (OCC), Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD), Neighbors Ready!, and the Oregon ODHS Office of Resilience and Emergency Management.
Be prepared not scared! The time to prepare for any disaster is now. We hope to hear from you soon!  

FEMA has released the results of the 2023 National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness. To review the survey results, download the summary presentation.
​Since 2013, FEMA has conducted the National Household Survey on Disaster Preparedness. This survey of people from across the United States gauges the nation’s disaster preparedness actions, attitudes, and motivations. The 2023 survey conducted from February 1 through March 14, 2023 included over 7,600 responses. Results from the 2023 survey indicate that slightly more than half (51%) of Americans believe they are prepared for a disaster and 57% took three or more actions to prepare for a disaster within the last year. The most common actions people took to prepare for a disaster were assembling or updating disaster supplies (48%) and making a plan (37%); the least common actions were planning with neighbors (12%) and getting involved in their community (14%).

In the mid-1990s the Beaverton School District (BSD) ​conducted a district-wide investigation of the seismic stability of its schools and subsequently began a targeted program to seismically upgrade and improve them. 

Most of us have been taught that in an earthquake, we should drop, cover, and hold on. Chris Goldfinger, Professor of Marine Geology and Oregon State University (OSU), challenges this advice in a PBS program that aired on Oct 18, 2022. He suggests your response could vary depending on how much warning you have before the violent shaking starts and what type of building you are in when the quake hits. Continue reading to learn more and watch the 12-minute video. 

When preparing for disasters, it’s hard to know exactly what might make the biggest difference in a future emergency. Fortunately, most disaster preparations can be helpful in a variety of disasters and emergencies. If you prepare for evacuation, such as getting your go bags ready, you’ll be ready to evacuate no matter what the cause, whether that’s due to a wildfire or an earthquake, both, or something else.
Bill and I have been teaching disaster and neighborhood readiness for five years as a way to build connected, caring, and resilient neighborhoods. Our skills were put to the test on January 4th, 2023,  when a power surge ignited an electrical fire in our basement, threatening our lives and property.  We survived and saved our home because of our training and the support of our neighbors. What made the most difference to us during this crisis?