Tillamook County’s 2025 Great ShakeOut Draws Record Community Participation
Tillamook County residents turned out in unprecedented numbers on October 16 for the 2025 Great ShakeOut—the county’s largest earthquake and tsunami preparedness exercise to date. Organized by the Tillamook County Citizens Corps Council (TC4) in partnership with local emergency preparedness groups, government agencies, and community organizations, this year’s event marked the third annual countywide ShakeOut drill and the most successful by far.
Preparedness in Action
At exactly 10:16 a.m., participants across the county practiced Drop, Cover, and Hold On before walking evacuation routes to their designated assembly areas with their emergency Go Bags. The scenario simulated a moderate local earthquake followed by the need for immediate tsunami evacuation—highlighting the importance of personal readiness and quick response.
Assembly areas were staffed with trained greeters and communications volunteers who logged participants, shared educational materials, demonstrated preparedness tools, and relayed information via GMRS and HAM radio networks. According to exercise evaluators, communication between assembly areas, net control, and Tillamook County Emergency Management was “stellar.”
Strong Leadership and Broad Community Engagement
Exercise planners emphasized the importance of collaboration across cities, county leadership, emergency volunteers, schools, businesses, and parks. This year saw especially strong engagement from:
City and county leaders
Tillamook County Emergency Management
Neighborhood and CERT volunteers
Tillamook School District—which recorded exceptional participation
County and State Parks, which posted materials widely and supported outreach
Local businesses county wide, many assisting with promotion and staff participation.
Participants reported increased awareness of evacuation procedures, preparedness principles, and the value of having a well-equipped Go Bag. Some evaluators estimated as much as a 95% improvement in preparedness engagement at assembly areas compared to previous years.
Year-Over-Year Participation Surges
The most striking outcome of the 2025 ShakeOut was the dramatic increase in participation:
2023: 455 participants
2024: 741 participants
2025: 3,921 participants
This represents a 429% increase over last year, and nearly a nine-fold increase since the exercise’s first year. The surge reflects deepening community awareness, commitment to emergency readiness and the success of TC4’s countywide outreach efforts, including flyers, business visits, presentations, school engagement, and social media campaigns.
Looking Ahead
Post-exercise evaluation identified several opportunities for next year, including earlier distribution of assembly packets, expanded Go Bag education, enhanced tally sheets, and renewed outreach to reduce community complacency and volunteer burnout. Still, planners emphasized a consistent theme: preparedness relies on practice. Just like a fire drill, repeating the evacuation process builds muscle memory that saves lives.
The 2025 Great ShakeOut demonstrated that Tillamook County is moving toward a stronger, more resilient future—one where neighbors know their routes, support one another, and take readiness seriously.
The 2026 Great ShakeOut will be on October 15 at 10:15 am. This is a worldwide, nationwide, statewide, and countywide event.
