Premium
Earthquake lessons pay off in Sounthern California
Author(s) -
Young Michael B.,
III Edward G. Means
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1995.tb06362.x
Subject(s) - metropolitan area , work (physics) , plan (archaeology) , engineering , forensic engineering , emergency response , emergency management , business , transport engineering , operations management , civil engineering , medical emergency , geography , archaeology , political science , mechanical engineering , medicine , law
Superior design standards, long‐term planning and preparation, and the development of in‐house repair capabilities helped MWDSC crews manage when the 1994 Northridge earthquake struck. After the Sylmar earthquake in 1971, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California established emergency planningprocedures. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake in the same area put those preparations to the test. Much of the groundwork proved helpful: an Emergency Operations Center was activated within 40 minutes, and reconnaissance patrols completed their damage inspection within just 5 hours. In addition, a decision to buy heavy machining equipment paid off when crews were able to fabricate new pipe sections for the damaged Jensen Filtration Plant. Lessons learned in 1994 were that practice sessions do not duplicate the actual experience of an earthquake; human emotional response to disaster is unpredictable; agencies can expect outside assistance and do not need large stockpiles of extra equipment; and a business resumption plan needs to be established so office work can continue during an emergency.