Northridge Earthquake Case Study
Northridge Earthquake: Response
Because the Northridge earthquake occurred in the early morning hours of the Martin Luther King holiday when traffic volume was extremely light, emergency response needs were limited, and agencies were able to focus rather quickly on mobility decisions (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2002). Had this earthquake occurred during peak traffic hours the devastation would have been unprecedented. The USGS responded rapidly and efficiently to the Northridge earthquake, based on its experiences in such disaster responses. “The USGS office at the California Institute of Technology (USGS/Caltech) quickly became one of the principal organizers of scientific work by other government agencies, universities, and private …show more content…
Public Health and Medical Services: To provide immediate medical aid to the injured and provide medical support and basic life support products like shelter, food, water etc. to all people affected by the earthquake.
Situational Assessment: This core capability provides all important stakeholders with decision-relevant information involving the nature and extends of hazard and updated response status.
If this earthquake was to happen again than I would recommend making sure to restore the power, water and gas to critical facilities like emergency responders and hospitals first. The response was great for this earthquake as there were not many fatalities. If the same earthquake was to occur at peak time than definitely there would have been more fatalities and damages and more responders would have to be deployed for immediately responding to help people trapped in buildings, cars, etc. People were without water and power for few days, I would like to make sure that these basic necessities are restored at the earliest possible
Because the Northridge earthquake occurred in the early morning hours of the Martin Luther King holiday when traffic volume was extremely light, emergency response needs were limited, and agencies were able to focus rather quickly on mobility decisions (U.S. Department of Transportation, 2002). Had this earthquake occurred during peak traffic hours the devastation would have been unprecedented. The USGS responded rapidly and efficiently to the Northridge earthquake, based on its experiences in such disaster responses. “The USGS office at the California Institute of Technology (USGS/Caltech) quickly became one of the principal organizers of scientific work by other government agencies, universities, and private …show more content…
Public Health and Medical Services: To provide immediate medical aid to the injured and provide medical support and basic life support products like shelter, food, water etc. to all people affected by the earthquake.
Situational Assessment: This core capability provides all important stakeholders with decision-relevant information involving the nature and extends of hazard and updated response status.
If this earthquake was to happen again than I would recommend making sure to restore the power, water and gas to critical facilities like emergency responders and hospitals first. The response was great for this earthquake as there were not many fatalities. If the same earthquake was to occur at peak time than definitely there would have been more fatalities and damages and more responders would have to be deployed for immediately responding to help people trapped in buildings, cars, etc. People were without water and power for few days, I would like to make sure that these basic necessities are restored at the earliest possible