- There is widespread public support for government action.
- Most people have some ideas as to what government should be doing.
- There is understanding of the need for hazard reduction as well as emergency response planning.
- People are willing, in the abstract, to have government funds spent for hazard mitigation.
- The public is not very satisfied with what government officials have done.
- Public officials perceive that current preparedness plans and response are inadequate at best.
As discussed below, the review indicates that all is not well in earthquake plans and preparedness. Current plans and preparedness are judged to be adequate for the "moderate" earthquakes most likely to occur frequently in California. By moderate it is meant an event causing property damage on the order of $1 to $2 billion. Such an event, however, will severely tax existing resources and provide a major test of management relationship among different governmental jurisdictions and levels. For a catastrophic earthquake, current plans and preparedness are clearly inadequate, leading to a high likelihood that Federal, State, and local response activities would become disorganized and largely fail to perform effectively for an extended period of time.
B. STATE AND LOCAL RESPONSE
Although there are widely differing approaches, local emergency planning in California generally consists of a basic plan and a series of contingency plans. The basic plan establishes the authority, sets forth references, addresses hazard vulnerability, states the planning assumptions, establishes an emergency services organization, assigns tasks, formulates a mutual aid system, and directs the development of specific support annexes. For those hazards identified in the basic plan, a separate contingency plan is then developed to address the unique nature of the hazardous event. The contingency plan contains service support plans for each of the functional operations, including detailed standard operating procedures. The planning efforts of local jurisdictions are coordinated with adjacent jurisdictions and the California OES for consistency.
A plan is not considered complete without the support annexes which make the plan operational. The survey undertaken for this assessment disclosed that approximately 93 percent of the jurisdictions examined have existing, basic plans; 50 percent have completed annexes; 28 percent of the basic plans addressed an earthquake hazard vulnerability; 35 percent have planned for earthquake contingency; and only 1 percent (one city) has a plan to respond to an earthquake prediction.
At the State level, the California OES, as an integral part of the Governor's Office, functions as his immediate staff and coordinating organization in carrying out the State's emergency responsibilities. Specific emergency assignments have been made to 34 State agencies by the OES Director through a series of Administrative Orders. During emergencies the activities of these agencies and departments are coordinated by the California OES.
The State OES is also responsible for maintaining and updating the California Emergency Plan (CEP) and associated readiness plans. As in the case of local plans, the basic document is supported by operational annexes as listed below:
| CONTINGENCY | MUTUAL AID |
| Earthquake | Fire and Rescue |
| Earthquake Prediction | Law Enforcement |
| Oil Spill | Medical |
| Nuclear Blackmail | Utilities |
| Reactor Accident | Military Support |
| Radioactive Material Incident | |
| Flood | |
| SUPPORTING SYSTEMS | EMERGENCY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT |
| Warning | Construction and Housing |
| Emergency Broadcast System | Economic Stabilization |
| Emergency Public Information | Food |
| Intelligence Operations | Health |
| Radiological Defense | Industrial Production |
| Manpower | |
| Petroleum | |
| Telecommunications | |
| Transportation | |
| Utilities |
Based on this planning concept, the review assessed quantitatively the preparedness activities of the 34 State agencies that have preparedness responsibilities in accordance with the CEP. The quantitative data are listed in the following table.