In the event of a catastrophic earthquake, the region affected would, for all intents and purposes, become an island. If the LA region got hit with the big one, the bridges, both car and railroad, would be damaged or destroyed.
One of the consequences of the Northridge quake was upgrading the standards for bridges and overpasses. For a couple of years following the event, there was substantial retrofitting of these structures. I believe they can now withstand a magnitude 8 event. Larger quakes have been recorded in California, but the probability is quite low. There will certainly be problems, but there should not be massive destruction on the scale we are witnessing in Haiti.
I have sent off a contribution to the ARC. I hope we all do at something nominal to assist.
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