This is probably not the best way to plan for an earthquake.

Expressing dissatisfaction with the questions being asked, around half of 200 Southern California hospitals surveyed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about their ability to handle a catastrophic earthquake failed to respond, according to Deborah Schoch at the CHCF Center for Health Reporting.

FEMA, the primary resource for hospitals when disaster strikes, sent the five-page survey out a couple years ago. It asks about basics like available potable water supplies, backup generators, pharmaceuticals, linens, waste disposal, access to donated goods and ability to evacuate.  

The survey was inspired by The ShakeOut Scenario, a report released in 2008 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that painted a devastating picture of what a 7.8 earthquake would do to Southern California.

The earthquake would kill 1,800 people, injure 50,000 and cause $200 billion in damage. 50,000 would seek treatment in emergency rooms but around two-thirds of hospital beds would be non-functional in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties.

The report was the collaboration of 300 scientists, engineers, and other experts from several agencies, including the USGS, the California Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center, California Office of Emergency Services and Seismic Safety Commission.

Hospitals belonging to Kaiser Permanente, whose medical building near ground zero was destroyed during the devastating 1994 Northridge quake, were the largest group of survey non-responders. Officials of the California Hospital Association expressed dissatisfaction with the survey being administered outside “normal communication channels” and that may have influenced individual members. Some hospitals questioned the confidentiality of the information being gathered and others.      

A new, statewide survey is reportedly being put together for dissemination this year.

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Many Southern California Hospitals Rebuff Government over Disaster Plans (by Deborah Schoch, CHCF Center for Health Reporting)

Quake Preparedness Paid off for Northridge Hospital (by Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News)

Statewide Quake in California May Be Possible After All (by Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times)