Earthquakes and earthquake preparedness ‘always on my mind’

“Always on my mind …”

Two recent Los Angeles Times articles were stark reminders of how humans never seem to learn from our mistakes, especially from the warning cards nature gives us. Novelist and humanist Kurt Vonnegut once remarked that “history is just a list of surprises. It can only prepare us for more surprises.”

The first Times article was Journey to the 1994 and Northridge Earthquakes. In 1971, the Selmar earthquake was thought to be the “largest” because it was felt in an area like this and was so devastating. Those events were far enough in the past not to be true to the large number of people who now live in Southern California. The event was definitely real for the 57 people killed and the 200 injured in the Northridge earthquake. It was true for some drivers on at least two highways when sections of the road receded in front of them and collapsed out of sight of the panicked drivers.

It was true to me when I was asked to join as the Safety Officer for details committed to detonating and removing a number of remaining highway structures. “Wake up call!” I shouted at the headline of The Times, and for a while people committed to projects like securing chimneys, making their home establishments safe, buying food and water in emergencies, and making plans for possible evacuations. But, as I mentioned above, these events are nothing but history for the majority of Los Angeles residents. However, “the big guy” is always a ghost as our city lies on either side of the Inglewood Fault and others without names. Are you ready to ride?

In West Hollywood, a small group of residents joined the Disaster Volunteer Corps (DVC) program, a program I was director of public safety at the time and designed for all residents to learn how to take care of themselves and possibly their neighbors, knowing that the fire department and other professionals will not be immediately available to everyone – perhaps Not for a week under the worst circumstances.

We even produced a brochure called West Hollywood Is Prepared – WHIP Brochure – which I believe is still in print. It was supposed to give residents a blueprint for pursuing self-preservation after a natural disaster, especially an earthquake.

Our efforts were set back by the formation of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which was designed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department and based on information gained from discussions with Japan and official response plans to the earthquakes plaguing that island nation. (Coincidentally, 10 years later, the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ annual meeting was held in Kobe, Japan, on the same day as a 7.2-magnitude earthquake devastated a large part of the city. The firefighters got a great deal of emergency response during The rest of their stay there.)

CERT, also known as the Civic Training Program, is accredited in most developed countries and is a prominent feature of many US city emergency response plans. When we examined the CERT, we saw that it was much better and simpler than the Disaster Volunteer Corps. The city agreed to our assessment and sent me, two other residents, and a city employee to the FEMMD training facility to become CERT instructors. Within less than two years of our return, we had “certified” nearly 200 volunteer resident residents.

As part of the city’s emergency response plans, the Emergency Response Team has been given an office in the Emergency Operations Center to oversee the activities of the Emergency Response Team and deal with “close” volunteers, those who appear at the scene of an accident often without certified skills but would like some help during the event. The primary goal of CERT was to train enough people to have one CERT in every apartment or apartment building and at least one person in every city block. We also had important plans to bring the business community into the CERT fold.

Then suddenly, without a word, the city withdrew its sponsorship of the emergency response team. Only through the efforts of Resident Kevin Burton did the computer emergency response team survive on its own. The province is offering training now. I’ve never received a reasonable answer as to why the city is giving up CERT. I think the city attorney felt the risk of liability was too high – despite the good Samaritan law of the state and the concessions signed.

It must have been sometime around 1986 that I first heard a lot about Lucy Jones. A seismologist with the United States Geological Survey, she has often been called in for occasional television interviews with Kate Hutton, a well-known seismologist at the California Institute of Technology, in the aftermath of any major earthquakes in California. Hutton was known locally as the “Earthquake Lady”. In recent years, Jones has become more familiar with the readers and viewers of the news media.

The second Los Angeles Times article was on the opening page on Thursday, February 25, 2021, offering Jones her current assessment of California’s preparedness for natural disasters. It is the kind of article every citizen should read. The title, “Don’t Be Overbearing About Texas Problems. California Is Also Not Prepared for Disaster.” What is presented is a thoughtful and succinct overview of areas of interest in our infrastructure and our country’s current approach to those concerns. This is a speaking scientist, and although her tone is fairly calm, her words should sound like a warning to all of us.

Dr. Jones talks about our inadequate and disjointed water system, about the age and condition of water pipes throughout the distribution landscape. Talk to a Texas resident about not having safe water for a week. It could be worse for us, our region is so large and dispersed. She also talks about building codes that lack insight and require plans only for what actually happened. It presents a bleak picture of the state’s readiness – and of course local municipalities – to face the growing challenge of dealing with the many types of ongoing disasters in the world of climate change.

What can we ordinary citizens do to prepare? These words have been printed and pronounced for decades:

Consider being unaccompanied for at least three days – prepare a food source for at least three days, and a gallon of water per person per day, create a survival plan, possibly to evacuate; Consolidate your important personal records Select an out-of-state contact who can verify your safety Take the time to become certified and learn the skills you may need to survive in the aftermath of a disaster.

This shortlist does not cover people with disabilities, caring for animal companions, or working with neighbors to meet common needs. Who can remember past earthquakes that shook it? Few of us. I only remember adults, Selmar and Northridge. Memory deficiency is not a feature of age, it is common in everyone. This is why we put things off – “I’ll do it tomorrow” – but “Procrastination is the thief of time!”

And the pictures on the wall started shaking and the glassware in the cupboard took a spasm and – shouting – something fell to the floor with the dog under the bed, and ….

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Editor’s note: There are two upcoming events related to earthquake preparedness:

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