Lessons Learned From The Northridge Earthquake

Southern California has a history of major earthquakes and also has one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The 1994 Northridge Earthquake challenged the industrial facilities and lifetime infrastructure in the northern Los Angeles (LA) area. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) sent a team of engineers to conduct an earthquake damage investigation in the Northridge area, on a project funded jointly by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) and the United States Department of Energy (USDOE). Many of the structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and lifelines that suffered damage are similar to those found in nuclear power plants and in USDOE facilities. Lessons learned from these experiences can have some applicability at commercial nuclear power plants.

As a result of the FEMA reorganization implemented in the fall of 1993, the Chief Financial Officer was given greatly increased responsibility for operation of the Disaster Relief Fund and for supporting financial processing at disaster locations. The Northridge Earthquake, which occurred shortly after the reorganization, marked the first time the Office of Financial Management (OFM) assumed an active role in this new assignment. Major organizing and work processing challenges had to be overcome to carry out our mission, due to: (1) the fact that OFM staff was not afforded time to develop and implement detailed plans for its new responsibilities, and (2) the burden created by a record number of assistance applications. The purpose of this lessons learned report is to determine how OFM can better serve our customers and deliver sound financial management services in support of response and recovery efforts following disasters. A collateral purpose is to recommend immediate actions to be completed to ensure optimum readiness to respond in the event another catastrophic disaster occurs in the near future.