Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an aggressive new plan to tackle earthquake safety.
Los Angeles will paratner with the U.S. Geological Survey to build a strategy for dealing with how to better protect private buildings and other resources such as telecommunications and the water supply during a major temblor.
The City Council is also considering several seismic safety initiatives, including investigating potential dangerous concrete and soft-first-story buildings.
“What’s really at stake is the viability of this city," said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, who will spend a year meeting with stakeholders and experts and devising policy recommendations for the city of Los Angeles. "We are here to make sure we are ready when, not if, the next earthquake hits," Garcetti said at a news conference.
Jones said her assignment for 2014 will bridge earthquake science and public policy to reduce earthquake risk, said the LA Times.
“We are donating the majority of my time this year to working together and trying to find solutions to problems," Jones said. “It’s a good prototype of taking our science and getting it applied to actually making a difference."
Garcetti laid out a timeline for the year’s goals, starting with developing in the first two months a list of problems and consequences. By spring, Jones will seek input from relevant stakeholders as well as input from technical experts. Later in the year, public hearings will be held and recommendations will be due to the mayor by December, said the LA Times.
