Morrow County faces several natural and manmade threats including:
Identified Weather hazards include:
The Umatilla Chemical Depot, which houses approximately 20% of the nation's remaining stockpile of chemical warfare agents, is located within the county. Release of these chemical munitions, due to accident or terrorist action, has the potential to kill and injure hundreds of county residents, devastate the environment and cause sustained, widespread economic hardship.
Morrow County is at risk from the consequences of a radiological event at the US Department of Energy's (USDOE) facility at Hanford, Washington, and the collocated Energy Northwest nuclear power plant. The transportation infrastructure within the county (road, rail, and river) is utilized to ship hazardous radiological wastes to the Hanford site for storage.
On a daily basis, the shipment of hazardous materials pose a threat to persons and property along the county's transportation corridors (road, rail and river).
Farms, food processing plants, energy generation plants, and industrial facilities utilize and store hazardous chemicals which pose a treat to surrounding persons and properties.
The Heppner area of the county is at risk from a failure of the US Army Corps of Engineers Willow Creek Dam while the dams on the Columbia River pose a potential threat to the communities of Irrigon and Boardman.
During the 1880's, an estimated magnitude 5.7 to 5.9 earthquake occurred with an epicenter on the current Umatilla Chemical Depot. The US Army has identified seismic activity as the greatest threat to the chemical munitions stored at the Umatilla Chemical Depot. Studies conducted on behalf of the US Department of Energy's Hanford Project have identified several fault lines in the region including the Lusander Thrust Fault which runs through Morrow County. In recent years, low magnitude seismic activity has been recorded near the North Lexington Elevator and near Lone Rock in neighboring Gilliam County.
Morrow County houses several energy generation, distribution and transmission targets of significant regional and national magnitude to be categorized as potential foreign and domestic terrorist targets. Additionally, the county's transportation infrastructure provides a potential target. The county's food production and processing facilities are vulnerable to foreign and domestic terrorists. Poplar plantations, similar to the one located within the county, have previously been targeted by the Earth Liberation Front. When complete, the 145-165,000 seat motor sports facility located near Boardman will have sufficient numbers of people and the media focus to make it a potential terrorist target.
In light of the terrorist threat posed against the United States, the county is vulnerable to attacks of communicable diseases including: Smallpox, Anthrax, Plague, and Hoof and Mouth Disease. Due to the presence of large ranching and dairy operations, cross species threats are of particular concern to the county.
Morrow County is subject to the threat of non-terrorist originated diseases such as flues of the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1918, West Nile Virus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS).
Morrow County is prone to wild fires which threaten life and property. Several such events have occurred in the county's history.