News Story of the Week

Comments on the article, "Southland Not Ready for Disaster" by Sharon Bernstein for the Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2005. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-me-disaster17sep17,1,6120489.story

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there have been a handful of articles discussing the likelihood of a disastrous earthquake in Los Angeles. This is directly related to an earthquake in LA being next on the list for likely disasters after numbers one (a terrorist attack in New York) and two (a hurricane in New Orleans) came true. (This is from a list from FEMA from 2001 as according to another article in the Los Angeles Times). What makes this a good story is that specifics about how prepared Los Angeles County is for a earthquake are laid out as opposed to a scare of the chaos after a disaster. Beyond addressing what we are and aren’t prepared for, this article also provides information on how individuals and families can prepare for such an event.