L.A. Developing Big Plans to Prepare for the "Big One"

Recent reporting in the Los Angeles Times seems to have awoken the city to its unpreparedness for the next big quake, and L.A. leaders are now taking steps to tackle earthquake safety.

"Marking the 20th anniversary of the destructive Northridge earthquake, [Mayor Eric] Garcetti said Los Angeles would for the first time partner with the U.S. Geological Survey to better protect private buildings as well as telecommunications and water supplies during a major temblor," report Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Doug Smith. "The move comes as the City Council is considering several seismic safety initiatives, including creating inventories of potentially dangerous concrete and wooden apartment buildings."

"Taken together, they mark the most significant effort to improve earthquake safety in Los Angeles in a generation," they add. 

"Earthquake preparedness is kind of like a balloon. If you don't continually put air into it, it will deflate," Garcetti said. "Too many in our city have stopped thinking about how we can best prepare."