How strong is ‘disaster culture’ in earthquake-prone L.A.?

By Robert Muir-Wood

The swarm of temblors in late September beneath the Salton Sea put Los Angeles on heightened alert and caused public officials to remind Angelenos about stockpiling water, shutting off gas valves, and remembering to “drop and cover.” The message is familiar: Although the agent is natural in disasters like earthquakes, the catastrophe that follows is all too human and unnatural. Its severity depends entirely on how well the city prepares, how strong a “disaster culture” it has built.

In L.A., such a culture took a while to get going. A hundred years ago, L.A. was promoting itself as a city free from earthquakes, with businesses relocating south after San Francisco’s 1906 destruction by earthquake and fire.