There have been a lot of stories that have come out recently to acknowledge the 20 year anniversary of the Northridge earthquake. It’s hard to believe that two decades have passed since that watershed event in California history, but here we are.
In some ways, safety has grown by leaps and bounds in the intervening timeframe. Buildings erected following the disaster have been made with earthquake safety in mind, and Los Angeles and nearby environs have made a concerted effort to protect against a disaster, especially in the area immediately surrounding fault lines.
However, there’s something about the modern world that may actually make the area more susceptible to danger should an earthquake hit, and that’s the advent of the internet and cellular communication. The Los Angeles Times has come out with a report that looks at how service disruptions in the wake of an earthquake are being guarded against and how they could wreak havoc should they be allowed to take place.
In today’s world, just about everyone uses the internet for their communication needs, and emergency responders are no different. Not only could lines be cut or towers suffer serious damage, but the heavy increase in call volume is bound to tie up phone traffic. Police officers do have backups in case of a cellular disruption.