Oct. 1 Whittier Quake Triggered Swarm of Studies

After the Oct. 1 Whittier Narrows earthquake, Leon Wang wanted to know about water pipes.

Patricia Bolton was interested in whether Latinos were provided with adequate follow-up services, while Robert Bolin wondered whether people were still having earthquake nightmares.

The three are among more than 40 researchers from across the country conducting post-earthquake studies in the Los Angeles area, compiling scientific report cards of how the region fared this time around and what officials can do to better prepare themselves for the Big One.

At first glance, some of the topics sound less than scintillating, such as Wang’s study on “A New Look Into the Performance of Water Lifeline Systems.” But Wang is fascinated by his research into why the earthquake caused water pipes in Whittier to burst rather than leak.

‘Disastrous Effect’

“The failure of pipelines would not kill people, but it would have a disastrous effect,” said Wang, chairman of the department of civil engineering at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. “The economic loss could be tremendous.”

Studies such as Wang’s can also help protect Los Angeles from fires such as those that raged through San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.

One answer, he said, is to have California cities replace aging, corroded pipe with more flexible pipes that use expandable joints. “The only way to have a pipe survive is to have it move with the ground,” Wang said.

While Wang examines broken pipe, Bolton is reviewing post-earthquake interviews with about 50 Latino families in Central and East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights.

Latino Needs Reviewed

Based on the interviews, she is questioning whether the traditional Red Cross shelter in a school gymnasi um is a culturally appropriate response for Latinos. Many Latinos opted for living in front yards and parks until the earthquake threat subsided.

“Maybe outreach is the thing to do,” said Bolton, who has been conducting post-disaster research since 1971. “Take latrines and food to the park. Maybe that’s better than setting up shelters . . . which are very disruptive unless they are nearby.”

The Red Cross needs more bilingual workers, Bolton said, and needs to understand that the family-oriented Latino culture may require a different response than the Anglo culture.

Assistance Rejected

Cora Espinoza, who conducted some of the interviews for Bolton’s study, said she was struck by how many Latinos rejected disaster assistance because they felt it was unnecessary.

“As long as they had a yard to sleep in, beans and tortillas to eat and could go inside to get their possessions, they thought everything was fine,” said Espinoza, a clinical psychology student at Cal State Los Angeles.

Many of the researchers are focusing their work in Whittier, where the Oct. 1 earthquake and its aftershocks caused more than $60 million in damage.

Bolin, a sociology professor at New Mexico State University, is focusing on the long-term psychological effects of the earthquake in his study of 200 Whittier families.

Earthquake-related sleep disorders and nervousness is being compared to the post-traumatic stress syndrome suffered by some Vietnam War veterans, Bolin said.

“Earthquakes seem to be particularly stressful. . . ,” said Bolin, who has also studied post-earthquake conditions in Coalinga, Calif., and Mexico City.

Each Whittier resident who participates in Bolin’s research answers more than 100 questions about everything from federal disaster assistance to the extent of reliance on family support.

Veteran researcher Vitelmo Bertero, a UC Berkeley civil engineering professor, is studying the earthquake’s effect on buildings and says he was surprised at the $360 million in damage caused by the 5.9 earthquake on Oct. 1.

Less Damage Expected

“This is not a very good indication,” Bertero said. “This earthquake was not supposed to produce (this extent) of damage.”

Bertero will be looking at ground motion recorded by instruments placed in at least five Los Angeles-area buildings, seeking to recommend ways to improve the construction and maintenance of such structures.

“Since 1943 I have chased 60 earthquakes,” Bertero said. “This is my life.”

And the list of research goes on, from studying how unreinforced masonry buildings survived the quake, to analyzing the temblor’s effect on the business community, to devising a way for cities to ensure public property such as sewer systems and bridges against earthquake damage.

The National Science Foundation and other groups have provided about $1.5 million to pay for these studies in the growing area of post-disaster research, which used to be confined mostly to hurricanes and floods, said Jim Goltz of the Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project.

“You’re seeing more sophisticated research design and a broader range of topics,” said Goltz, who is supervising six post-earthquake studies on community response at his agency.

Scientists Grumble

However, there has been a little grumbling in the California scientific community about how NSF selected the projects that were funded. California Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering, a 20-member nonprofit corporation including Caltech, Stanford, USC and UCLA, submitted a comprehensive package of 20 research proposals to NSF and had only one funded, said Bill Iwan, chairman of the state Seismic Safety Commission.

Iwan said his group’s plan would have avoided duplication of research and assured the integration of study recommendations. Without NSF backing, “we are just not able to do what needs to be done,” said Iwan, a professor of applied mechanics at Caltech.

NSF spokesman Jeffrey Norris said he could not comment on any proposal denied by the foundation, but he said 16 of the 30 funded studies were from researchers outside California.

Iwan was reluctant to criticize NSF, which he called “the only game in town” in funding earthquake engineering research. But increasingly, he said, “the major universities in California that have been involved in (earthquake engineering) are hurting. . . . We do not have the funds that we need to assure the safety of our citizens.”

Code Rewritten

After the 1971 Sylmar quake, the NSF paid for about $750,000 in similar research and poured millions into long-term engineering studies whose conclusions helped rewrite the state’s earthquake building code, said Charles C. Thiel, a Stanford University civil engineering professor who used to head the foundation’s quake research effort.

But with more research comes the persistent problem of making sure the studies are implemented, Goltz said, because there is no agency charged with coordinating researchers’ recommendations.

“A lot of the disaster research that is done around the country is done by academicians,” he said. “The sense among some agencies . . . is that not all of the research is being translated into practical policy and programs.”