Preparing L.A. For Disaster

"Would better preparedness on a neighborhood level have made up for the lapses in official response that marooned thousands of New Orleans residents in hellish “shelters” like the Superdome? Does it help make Los Angeles better equipped than the Gulf Coast to handle a disaster?

Certainly, it can’t hurt. Elected officials and emergency preparedness professionals here have repeated now for more than a week that Los Angeles’ disaster infrastructure is second to none in the nation, tightly coordinated, well rehearsed. But most also fell back on the grim reminder that for the first three days after a catastrophe that severs communication lines and evacuation routes, residents should expect to be on their own."