LA emergency preparedness plans | 06.08.2006 | 07:45:44 | Views: 5454 | ID: June 8 '06: City officials in Los Angeles voted on Monday to develop an emergency preparedness plan in the event of a large natural disaster or terrorist strike, a local CBS News affiliate reported. The announcement came as the White House planned to release a report on advancements of city councils around the country regarding emergency management and disaster preparedness, National Public Radio broadcast earlier. Part of the money needed to increase the city's disaster preparedness plans will come from federal funding from the Department of Homeland Security which announced new grant allocations this week. The Los Angeles Times reported the city will receive $80.6 million in federal funding and that "the Los Angeles/Long Beach area will use the money to develop a countywide initiative for regional planning and training and to conduct exercises on anti-terrorism issues, as well as a public education campaign on emergency preparations." Additional plans to mitigate potential disasters in California urban areas include a new simulation model of earthquake damage through city neighborhoods, the LA Times wrote in another story. Researchers from the Southern California Earthquake Center hope to be able to simulate the shock waves produced by teh Santa Anna fault line and how it will affect urban areas. "The study identified several areas, including communities at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, that would experience particularly strong shaking because the local topography would force waves toward the surface," causing more damage. The CBS affiliate reported that LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa "set aside $4.6 million to restructure the Emergency Preparedness Department to 'increase effectiveness and preparedness across the city.'" Some of that funding will go "toward the hiring of 33 additional firefighters and finding ways to better assist residents with special needs during an emergency." In addition to firefighters and special needs plans, "the money will also go to improving the regional dispatch for fire agencies, development of a license plate recognition system and creation of a regional command center to coordinate the monitoring of various video surveillance systems operating in the county," the LA TImes reported.
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