Widespread power outages considered a wake-up call
By Yvonne Beltzer and Patrick Healy - KNBC-TV Los Angeles
| Thursday, Dec 8, 2011 | Updated 6:17 PM PST
Last week's powerful windstorm was a wake-up call for Southern California power companies, but it was also a reminder to anyone living in earthquake country that it's time to get prepared for the inevitable."It's my responsibility to be prepared," said Pasadena homeowner Margaret Vinci.
A tree fell on her roof during the windstorm, but her bigger problem was the loss of electricity.
That challenged her emergency preparations.
"I have my flashlight, battery and radio," she said and she even had solar powered battery chargers. Her home even has rooftop solar panels she used to heat water off the grid.
Why was she so well-prepared?
Vinci is the manager of earthquake programs at Caltech. She has long been an advocate of emergency preparedness.
To her, the windstorm was both a test and practice.
"It was totally rehearsal for the big one," she added.
USGS Seismologist Doug Given, PhD, predicted the so-called big one will be much worse.
"The bad news is, it will last longer and be more widespread," Given said. He is the project chief for seismic monitoring for the US Geologic Survey. His La Crescenta household went without power for only one day, but he said he was reminded of the fact that everyone has to get ready.
"The power loss would be much more widespread," he said, adding "it would probably last longer particularly in certain areas."
The windstorm cut off power to 650,000 homes and businesses last Thursday. The outages ranged from the San Gabriel Valley to Venice, but that is minor compared to the damage a major earthquake might do.
Experts predict that an event that registered 7.8 would cause all five local counties that make up the Los Angeles Metro to lose electricity.
A day later, 50 to 70 percent would still be without power and as long as ten days later, three million people in the metro area would still be in the dark.
"You should be self-sufficient for a week or so," Givens advised. "Imagine your experience of last week and turn off your water, turn off your gas, make sure your telephone doesn't work, your cell phone doesn't work and then you probably can't drive across town either."
The windstorm made a number of Southern Californians consider buying generators. They can cost as much as a thousand dollars.
But Givens advised unless a consumer needs a generator for a medical need, it would be better just to stock up on batteries and other supplies.
These supplies, of course, have a limited storage life so Southern Californians should check their quake supplies from time to time and make sure their food, batteries and water supplies remain fresh.
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