Haiti and the Southland
by David Deutsch
Haiti has, for obvious reasons, been on the top of the news cycle lately. There isn’t a lot that can be said about the catastrophe that isn’t strikingly obvious. As I noted in a previous diary, I was dispatched to New Orleans weeks after Katrina, and that alone was a shocking and overwhelming experience. In fact, I had to take naps in the afternoon just to turn my mind off from the mass destruction. But apparently post-Katrina New Orleans was in much, much better shape than Port-au-Prince is now, with bodies rotting in the middle of the city and no access to fresh water or food. If I stayed on with that job, there is a chance I would have been dispatched to the latest nightmare as well. Thankfully, I missed this trip.
This tragedy also hits especially close to home for Southland residents, not because of our Haitian community, but because we live in an earthquake zone, and one could strike anytime. Since moving to Southern California I have experienced two relatively small earthquakes, and that was scary enough for me. After Haiti, I have found myself even more concerned about earthquakes, especially since there was a pretty big one in Northern California shortly before the one in Haiti struck.
San Francisco, 1906
I have two basic fears if/when The Big One does hit the Southland: the initial damage caused by the quake, and the aftermath. Once the quaking and aftershocks subside and the damage is assessed, I fear that the emergency response will be highly stratified, with the upper echelons of society receiving food, water, and shelter long before the underclasses do. Then, when these underclasses start to demand aid as well—the arrogance! the impudence!—they will be seen as unruly and disruptive, giving a nice narrative for the media to report on. “Gee, we really do try to help them, but they just can’t be counted on to behave when tragedy strikes.” On the other hand, if the poor and underserved somehow do get the aid, then we’ll likely hear howls of protest and a visit from Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and Lou Dobbs, with their inevitable dog-whistle messages. “How come illegal aliens get the same level of aid as Real Americans?”
Or, since this is Southern California, we’d hear John Hagee and/or Pat Robertson declare that Hollywood liberal elites have caused this earthquake because the region has “levels of sin that are offensive to God.” The last thing we’d need is to ratchet up the fear, hate, and religious superstition following such a disaster, but I can almost guarantee such incendiary speech would begin less than 24 hours after the first tremors are felt.
Los Angeles is already somewhat of an economic and cultural tinderbox, with its broad swaths of disaffected youth, impoverished and economically-trapped citizens, and poor transportation infrastructure to support those who cannot afford their own cars. A national disaster like The Big One could quickly exacerbate these tensions. Southland policy makers need to see Haiti as a wake-up call and begin coordinating messaging and communications, as well as have us practice hiding under our tables through text messages.
The same goes for Orange County. While the OC is often stereotyped as a white-bread suburb, there are poor urban areas, such as Santa Ana, which could also see a lackluster response. In fact, I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that the tourists at Disneyland and California Adventure would receive far better treatment than the residents of neighboring Santa Ana, for both racial and economic reasons.
Having said all of this ... buildings in the Southland are probably (hopefully?) some of the most earthquake-resistant in the world, especially compared to places such as Port-au-Prince, which hadn’t recorded such an earthquake since at least 1770. In contrast to Haiti, Southern California has been preparing for The Big One for many years, and has built its infrastructure to prepare for the worst. So while we are certainly better prepared than our poor Haitian brethren, we still remain susceptible to a potential super-catastrophe, especially those folks who built houses on the edge of precarious cliffs—whether they are the actual cliffs of the Hollywood Hills, or the metaphorical cliffs on which those on the economic fringes dwell.
I really do not know what the earthquake plans are for this area, which in itself is a cause for concern. Sure, I learned all about ducking, covering, and holding on. Those tips are easy to find. But I have not seen any post-quake plan in place to protect us from, well, ourselves. Note to policymakers: in light of what just happened in Haiti, isn’t now the time to start this kind of planning and regimented information dispersion?
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