Willamette Valley News, Wednesday 12/8 – More Than 50 Earthquakes Strike Off Oregon Coast Tuesday and Still Rumbling This Morning, Search For Armed Robbery Suspect in Eugene

The latest news stories and stories of interest in the Willamette Valley from the digital home of Southern Oregon, from Wynne Broadcasting’s WillametteValleyMagazine.com

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Willamette Valley Weather

Today– Rain. Snow level 3600 feet lowering to 2800 feet. High near 48. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Thursday– Rain. Snow level 1900 feet. High near 43. South wind 7 to 11 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Friday– A 50 percent chance of rain, mainly before 10am. Snow level 2600 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46. South wind 7 to 10 mph.

Saturday– Rain. High near 48. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 100%.

Sunday– Rain. Snow level 2500 feet. Cloudy, with a high near 45.

Police Searching for Armed Robbery Suspect in Eugene

A market was robbed at gunpoint in Eugene on Saturday, police say.

It happened at about 9:45 p.m. at Everyone’s Market, 1245 Echo Hollow Road. Police said the culprit got away with cash and has not yet been identified.

The suspect is described as white, between the ages of 20 and 30, and about six feet tall. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie and dark-colored pants and shoes.

If you have any information, please pass it along to Eugene Police Department: (541) 682-5111

Hand Sanitizer Put Into Students’ Water Bottles Prank At Eugene Elementary School

Howard Elementary Technology Immersion School

The parents of a Howard Elementary School student said their son had to be hospitalized after unknowingly ingesting hand sanitizer after it was put into his water bottle at school.

Due to COVID concerns, the parents said students are only allowed to bring their own personal water bottles since water fountains are turned off.

The Principal of Howard Elementary School sent the following message to parents to inform them of the incident:

“We want to let you know about an incident that occurred in your student’s class today.

Several students reported that the liquid in their water bottles smelled like hand sanitizer and that they had consumed some of the water. After investigating, we were able to determine that another student had put some hand sanitizer gel in one or more students’ water bottles. All the students in the class dumped the contents of their bottles and washed them out before refilling with water.

We have already spoken with the families of the students who may have drunk water with some hand sanitizer in it. Because they may have consumed an unknown amount of hand sanitizer, it was recommended they seek medical evaluation.

It is important for students and families to know that while hand sanitizer is safe for hands, it is not safe to ingest. If you ever have reason to believe your child may have consumed something harmful, contact Poison Control right away for advice.

We are continuing to investigate this event and taking appropriate follow-up actions.”

The child spent four hours at the hospital, but he is not expected to suffer any serious health issues.

The mother of this student believes it was a prank by another student who didn’t understand the possible impact of their actions. She said she’s more worried about the schools’ response than the action of the child, and alleges that some parents were not notified.

“We all do stupid stuff like that, but it’s the breakdown in communication with the school. It’s the lack of notification, and the breakdown of safety in the classroom,” the mother said.

Oregon reports 945 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 31 new deaths

There are 31 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,299. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported 945 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 397,421.

The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (6), Benton (14), Clackamas (67), Clatsop (4), Columbia (11), Coos (48), Crook (16), Curry (4), Deschutes (52), Douglas (30), Grant (1), Harney (2), Hood River (14), Jackson (57), Jefferson (13), Josephine (30), Klamath (24), Lake (1), Lane (58), Lincoln (12), Linn (39), Malheur (5), Marion (103), Morrow (5), Multnomah (98), Polk (36), Sherman (2), Tillamook (8), Umatilla (23), Union (5), Wallow (2), Wasco (11), Washington (107) and Yamhill (37).

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More Than 50 Earthquakes Strike Off Oregon Coast Tuesday; No Tsunamis Expected

Dozens of earthquakes above magnitude 5.0 struck about 200-250 miles west of Newport on Tuesday and are still happening into this morning 12/8. The quakes hit roughly 200 to 250 miles off the coast of Newport. 

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting dozens of small-to-moderate earthquakes that started yesterday (December 7, 2021) and continued through this morning, off the coast of the U.S. state of Oregon. The largest reached magnitude 5.8, according to USGS. Earthquakes in the ocean sometimes cause tsunamis. But no tsunamis were ever expected from these earthquakes, and none are expected at this writing.

The earthquakes occurred more than six miles below the surface of the water, none of them were felt on land and no tsunamis were expected, according to the National Weather Service and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

Earthquakes often happen in a series, although it’s unusual to see so many earthquakes (at least 40 by my count) as in this series. They’re of special interest because they’re happening off the coast of a heavily populated region. We often see a dozen or so foreshocks and aftershocks around a primary earthquake. The small-to-moderate quakes off the Oregon coast on December 7-8, 2021, can be considered foreshocks and aftershocks of each other. The terms are relative. It’ll be easiest to sort out which are foreshocks and which are aftershocks (and which are both) once the earthquake series has stopped.

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network tweeted that this area — the Blanco Fracture Zone — is one of the most seismically active near North America, and the high activity is not a cause for concern. 

The United States Geological Service (USGS) latest earthquake map shows all earthquakes 2.5 magnitude and above over the last 24 hours. 

Earthquakes are relatively common off the coast of Oregon, a reminder of the state’s close proximity to moving fault lines. The Juan de Fuca plate off the coast is building up pressure and subsiding under the North American plate and has not produced a major earthquake in more than 300 years. Scientists predict a 37% chance of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake or higher in the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the next 50 years, likely to trigger a major tsunami and potentially devastate many parts of the Northwest. 

ShakeAlert, an early earthquake warning system, launched in Oregon earlier this year. The system is made up of a network of sensors that shares information about the magnitude, location and expected shaking from earthquakes on the West Coast. 

The last earthquake as of this writing took place at 2:50 am this morning, December 8. It was a 5.2-magnitude quake. So it’s unknown yet how many more earthquakes might occur in the Pacific, off the Oregon coast, today.

List of earthquakes and their magnitude.
A portion of the USGS Latest Earthquakes page – showing some of the dozens of December 7 and 8, 2021, earthquakes – in the ocean west of Oregon. Via USGS Latest Earthquakes.

Earthquakes happen every day. As of this writing, USGS is showing 80 earthquakes – all around the globe – over the past 24 hours. More than 40 of them happened off the coast of Oregon.

Trucking Industry In Oregon Struggling With Supply Chain Issues and Driver Shortage

One in 17 jobs in Oregon is related to the industry. One crucial part of the supply chain issue is trucking.

80% of the communities in Oregon are only serviced by truck, and 88% of Oregon’s manufactured goods are shipped by truck. The supply chain issues hurt more than just the trucking industry.

“There’s a real shortage of truck drivers. I’ve got 25 trucks out of my 500 truck fleet sitting for lack of drivers,” says Mike Card, President of Combined Transport. “These are $150,000 trucks with trailers that I could be hauling freight with, that I cannot.”

Industry leaders say the truck driver pool has shrunk almost 6%. But a lack of drivers is just one symptom of a bigger problem. Equipment shortages like diesel exhaust fluid sensors have contributed to the supply chain issues.

These sensors control the truck, so if you don’t have DEF it shuts the truck off. When the sensors go bad, it causes a lot a problems when you can’t replace them.

“We had a driver, we had a truck, but we couldn’t roll because there were no DEF sensors available,” Card says. “We tried to get them to give us software so we could run our trucks without sensors, but it was a mess and we lost many minutes.”

Congestion is also a factor. The I-5 bridge and the Rose Quarter choke points are in the top 30 bottlenecks in the country.

Card says legislation like lowering the minimum age for drivers, can help. You have to be 21 or older to be a truck driver. So the trucking industry can’t recruit younger workers. Nationally, the average age of a truck driver is 46.

Local workforce boards are another way they’re trying to fix the issues. The Oregon Trucking Association is working to get more people on the workforce boards to make people aware of the issues and recruit more workers.

Rare sea otter that was found injured on the Oregon Coast last week has sadly passed away

The sea otter that was found injured on the Oregon Coast last week has sadly passed away, the Oregon Coast Aquarium said Monday. The otter – a rarity on the coast – was first spotted at Yaquina Head, just north of Newport.

Once word got out, crowds started gathering to watch the otter groom itself and eat purple sea urchin. Then last Thursday, the aquarium said the otter was being treated for infection and multiple wounds – likely from a shark bite – after a park ranger with the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area found him hauled ashore with limited mobility and poor fur quality.

Aquarium veterinary staff tended to the otter’s wounds, treated him for infection, and provided him with incrementally larger portions of food to combat emaciation. The aquarium said the otter was initially alert and accepting food, but his status quickly changed.

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