Civic and Community

The United States Geological Survey is predicting that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake will strike Southern California sometime in the next 30 years. As the result of a 2007 comprehensive planning and simulation exercise conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it is expected that a collapse in the infrastructure may delay the arrival of outside assistance including government resources and the national American Red Cross. Consequently, the American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles recognized the need to establish response capabilities within the community to respond independently of outside assistance. Resulting analysis projected the need for the Los Angeles Chapter to shelter 250,000 evacuees and serve two million meals per day for up to five days. This grant will help the Red Cross continue to build its catastrophic response capacity over the next two years.