from all my true crime podcasts and ran across this one from a reporter in L.A. It discusses the potentially catastrophic earthquake that will/might/probably occur along the San Andreas fault sometime in the next generation. The Big One would impact something like 10 million people in L.A. and be the most expensive disaster ever in America. The podcast discusses how woefully unprepared Southern California is for such a potentially damaging quake and some things that everyone can do to be ready.

The reporter comes across as as your typical west coast liberal, confident that emergency services will be quickly restored (within a couple weeks) and that lawlessness won't take over. I think it's probably a typical, millennial view of the potential situation. I also agree that it is most likely that state and federal resources would become available within a month of the Big One. But I keep thinking back on Katrina, and how completely devastated that region was for so long.

Which begs the question: are predominantly white suburban areas better served by disaster services (insurance, FEMA payouts, reconstruction efforts, etc.) than urban black areas? The podcast touches on the subject for an episode, and I went away from it thinking that yes, Southern California would probably rebound faster than New Orleans.

I live in an area where the most likely disaster would be tornado or ice storm and the most likely scenario would be loss of electricity and cell phone service for an extended time. I've always wondered how best to prepare for a tornado where the event would likely take your belongings and blow them away. This past fall we lost power for three days due to a high wind event and managed to get by with a borrowed generator to power the fridge and a few lights. It wasn't fun. Made me want to install a whole-home power switch. Then I looked at the cost and did a cost/benefit analysis in my head. As a result, I don't have a whole-home switch.

Anyway, it's an interesting podcast. Some of you Californians might be interested. Some of you Bluffdale-ians might be interested too.