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EFFECTS OF
CATASTROPHIC EVENTS ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
AND OPERATIONS
Northridge Earthquake- January 17, 1994
U.S.
Department of Transportation
John A. Volpe
National
Transportation
Systems Center
Cambridge,
Massachusetts
April 22, 2002
Prepared for
U.S.
Department of Transportation
ITS Joint
Program Office
FOREWORD
This report was prepared by the U.S. Department of Transportation's (U.S. DOT) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) for the U.S. DOT's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office. The Volpe Center study team consisted of Allan J. DeBlasio, the project manager, Amanda Zamora, Frederick Mottley, and Robert Brodesky from EG&G Technical Services; Margaret E. Zirker and Michelle Crowder from Cambridge Systematics Inc.; and Terrance J. Regan, Kathleen Bagdonas and Dan Morin from Planners Collaborative. Vince Pearce is the U.S. DOT manager of the review.
This report documents the actions taken by transportation agencies in response to the earthquake in Northridge, California on January 17, 1994, and is part of a larger effort to examine the impacts of catastrophic events on transportation system facilities and services. The findings documented in this report are a result of a detailed literature search on Northridge lessons learned. As part of a larger effort, four case studies will be produced:
New York City, September 11, 2001
Washington, D.C., September 11, 2001
Baltimore, Maryland, rail tunnel fire, July 18, 2001
Northridge, California, earthquake, January 17, 1994.
Each of these events resulted in substantial, immediate, and adverse impacts on transportation, and each has had varying degrees of influence on the longer-term operation of transportation facilities and services in their respective region. Each event revealed important information about the response of the transportation system to major stress and the ability of operating agencies and their public safety and emergency management partners to respond effectively to a crisis. This report emphasizes the transportation aspects of this catastrophic event and lessons learned that could be incorporated into future emergency response planning.