Report: Health Industry Would Be Hardest Hit by Quake in Southern Calif.

A strong earthquake in Southern California could cause significant financial losses in the region and hit the health care industry the hardest, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Whittier Daily News reports (Lin, Whittier Daily News, 6/21).

The report notes that a 2008 U.S. Geological Survey report estimated that a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Southern California would cause about $213 billion in financial losses (Streeter, "L.A. Now," Los Angeles Times, 6/21).

Effects on Health Care Industry

Experts say that although California hospitals have made considerable improvements to comply with seismic safety mandates, many facilities are located in areas at the greatest risk for destructive shaking.

The bureau estimates that a 7.8-magnitude quake would affect about 29,000 health-related businesses and nearly 522,000 health care employees in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The death toll of such a quake would be in the thousands, the report predicts.

Implications

Amar Mann, a BLS economist and co-author of the report, said the prediction about how an earthquake would affect hospitals is "a scary thought," adding that "the people [who] are going to be most critical during and after this event ... are actually themselves going to be in this most damaged area" (Whittier Daily News, 6/21).