Community Groups And Local Government Prepare For Heat Emergencies (Photo) - 05/22/26

Community organizations who serve Portland’s diverse communities are participating in the next in a series of exercises on extreme weather to prepare for emergencies. The emphasis of this exercise is extreme heat.

More than 25 Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) and Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) will put their extreme heat plans into action on Wednesday, May 27. The exercise, the result of several months of planning and design by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management (PBEM), is part of a recurring series of Community Outreach and Resilience events to build community preparedness and response capabilities during extreme summer heat, wildfire season, and snow and ice events.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the Emergency Operation Center, 9911 S.E. Bush St. Portland, OR 97266. Please RSVP to jaymee.cuti@portlandoregon.gov.

The City of Portland’s Emergency Operations Center will be full of activity as organizations that serve diverse communities and government and nonprofit service organizations work through a simulated scenario designed to improve community resilience and government response to community needs.

“We continue to improve upon our planning and coordination with members of our community who are vulnerable to the effects of weather emergencies. We, as government partners, are learning from our communities how to best support them through extreme weather events to save lives,” said Regina Ingabire, Community Resilience Outreach Manager for the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management.

Participating Community Based Organizations include: AFHHO (African Family Holistic Health Organization), ARISE and Shine, AYCO (AFRICAN YOUTH AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION), Community Energy Project, Community for Positive Aging, Community Safety Division, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon,  First Church Love, Lloyd EcoDistrict, Native American Youth & Family Center, Rose Community Development, Ethiopian and Eriteran Community Resource Center, Slavic Community, Division Midway Alliance, APANO , Afro Village and more.

Event partners: National Weather Service, Multnomah County Department of County Human Services and Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability – Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF)