Pushing the Limits of Disaster : Widespread Damage Should Make It ‘Greater Los Angeles Earthquake’

Remember the wildfires last autumn? There were several, and each blaze had a name. Collectively, however, the disaster was known as the Southern California firestorm, an important distinction that told folks throughout the nation that the damage was indiscriminate and widespread.

Too bad earthquakes are named for their epicenters, or at least for where the experts initially presume the epicenter to be. In the example that concerns us here, the “Northridge” name reveals little about the destructive seismic force that also befell Santa Monica, the Newhall Pass and Sherman Oaks, to name a few other hard-hit areas. This is a matter of some importance when one considers the fact that those who control the state and federal aid spigots are often hundreds or thousands of miles distant.

Well, you can now add the city of San Fernando to the slowly growing list of communities that were struck much more severely by the main quake and its aftershocks than anyone might have believed.

Nearly 7.5% of the 5,700 residential units in this northern San Fernando Valley locality have been declared unsafe or restricted to limited entry. More than 10% of its commercial units sustained similar damage. This means that the rebuilding effort there must include a thorough accounting of what circumstances, including seismic shaking and building codes, contributed to the severe impact.

Perhaps now the folks who name these things will get around to calling this one the Greater Los Angeles Earthquake.