I must admit I'm on the skeptical side as well. Most people in LA don't even realize its a harsh desert with very few natural water sources. Even a slight reduction in the amount of water that flows south every day would dramatically alter life here. Of course cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix are in the same boat.

Read up on the Northridge quake of 1994. It messed things up royally for a bit, but the average person coped, and evidently did reasonably well. There were no water or food riots, unlike the Rodney King situation a few years earlier.

Depending upon which section of Los Angeles you are considering, you might be able to make a case for concern about other, more threatening hazards than earthquakes - stray bullets from gangbangers and the ubiquitous auto accidents, for instance.

I like to think that I have prepared for earthquakes and other potential disasters (wild fires). I have about thirty gallons of water stockpiled, plus the water heater, along with food and plenty of camping and outdoor gear and I pay for earthquake insurance. But I am probably not as prepared as I would like to think, especially if the Big One comes.

75% of the population of LA is derived South of the border.They know Lack of Water,probably better than Most Americans!They also know Disasters of Monstrous Proportions,Better than Most Americans!They are prepared for Disaster.I've been in Many Homes of my co-workers/friends & They are Well Stocked,For anything,come what may!They All have knowledge of Why,What,How to Survive through Disasters,Usually of Greater Proportions,than the rest of LA society.

Hikermor, do you have some of the stuff in your home strapped down? Water heater, refrigerator, upright freezer, etc? That seems to be one thing that most people is EQ country overlook.

Just wondering...

Sue

Yes. Over the years, I have improved the strapping of my water heater, from improvised sketchy to officially sturdy (I believe strapping is now mandatory in most of Cal these days). The reefer is secure, and I am most concerned about the unreinforced masonry fireplace chimney - I screwed down some plywood pieces in the attic to provide shielding.

Also took the mirror off the bedroom ceiling - a really bad idea in California, despite the "Hotel California" lyrics ("mirror on the ceiling, pink champagne on ice...."

In the United States, for most areas, you live in a very controlled environment. Risk has been reduced for your daily events to a point you don't see the actual risk. I think people compensate. That would be a nice emergency management experiment to find out if the level of daily risk correlates to preparedness. Most areas that have this level of daily risk probably are not as rich as others. This risk can be stuff like gang violence, or just the lack of enforcement of traffic laws.

Security should go along with that water you're storing. In fact, security is more important. Take a look at what happened recently in the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. Heck, study any disaster where resources suddenly became scarce. Once the resources started dwindling, people started looting. It's human nature. You can have 100 gallons stored up. Unfortunately, your next door neighbor with a rifle is better equipped than you if you have no security. Your water and all your stuff become his stuff if he so desires.

Good idea. What, exactly, did happen on Haiti and Chile? I know the standard media reports of "looting" appeared and I don't doubt that non-compensated transfers of material property occurred, but most of what I saw was pretty general stuff. I would differentiate between people taking vital supplies from untended commercial establishments and folks ripping off flat screen TVs and high heel shoes just because nobody could stop them. Were people taking supplies from each other or just from stores, etc?

I am not trying to deny that looting does occur - we saw plenty here in SoCal during the Rodney King riots (those had nothing to do with material shortages IIRC) - but when and under what circumstances does looting begin? I am pretty sure there are better sources of real information than the general media blurbs, but I am genuinely ignorant. I'll bet it doesn't start on a neighbor to neighbor basis (unless you have really poor relations with your neighbors)

And, by the way, I took long ago steps to enhance my security. It is a game I play by the numbers. Some of my favorite numbers are 12G, 357, and 6mm. 45 is a nice number, but I don't play it currently.

I don't care to argue about the risk of looting. I'll just accept looting as being a problem like I already know it is, and I'll plan accordingly. Note that it's easy to downplay the problem of looting when you have your guns and ammo nicely stacked up. I do too.