Oct. 1 Quake Shook Up Some Businesses Enough to Plan for Disasters

Most businesses in Orange County have not adequately planned for such disasters as a major earthquake and would be unable to recover quickly enough to prevent massive disruption to the area’s economy, leaders of disaster response programs said Tuesday.

But interest in developing emergency plans has increased since a 5.9 earthquake rocked Southern California on Oct. 1 and caused $350 million in property damage, officials said at the 1988 Orange County Disaster Preparedness Academy in Costa Mesa.

“We’ve seen increased concern since the Oct. 1 quake because we’ve seen how vulnerable we are,” said Barbara J. Murrin, president of Crisis Management Group in Long Beach. “To not plan is just ludicrous, particularly in California,” she said.

Murrin, who develops disaster plans for businesses, said exhaustive planning is the key to being prepared for crises ranging from a flood or fire in a company’s computer room to an earthquake that paralyzes an entire region.

“You can buy all the bottled water and food you want, but if you don’t have a company plan to distribute it when an emergency happens, you’re going to have pandemonium,” Murrin said.

Local Red Cross officials said public apathy is the largest problem they face.

“Although we know its occurrence is inevitable, people are reluctant to prepare for nonrecurring disasters such as earthquakes,” said Paul Myers, director of Disaster Emergency Services for the American Red Cross in Orange County. “We’re up against apathy in the home and in the workplace, (but) the Whittier quake was a real good wake-up call for us in Orange County,” he said.

But only a small number of the county’s employers have developed comprehensive disaster response plans, according to Dave Williams, co-founder of the Orange County chapter of the Assn. of Contingency Planners, a nonprofit volunteer group that helps business and industry develop effective disaster recovery plans.

Williams suggested that companies find alternative computer centers to accommodate their processing needs during a disaster and develop several communication resources.

“The longer it takes to recover (after a disaster), the more it costs,” Williams said. “And if they haven’t recovered in the first two weeks, chances are they won’t recover at all.”

Williams said that since most major Orange County businesses rely on computers, those companies would likely be unable to function in the event of a crisis in which the company’s computers were shut down.

“Of course, the most important aspect of a business is the people,” Williams said. “But if the people no longer have the tools to get the job done, they can’t save the business.”

Williams said regional computer banks, known as hot sites, can handle the processing needs of companies whose computer systems have failed after a disaster. And if phone lines are dead, satellite communication systems can relay the information to the processing center.

“Yes, it’s costly,” Williams said. “But it’s a lot less costly than going out of business.”