Japan Officials call for residents to be prepared

A week after an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, city and county officials called Friday for Los Angeles residents to prepare themselves for emergencies here at home.

"This is a pretty strong wake-up call that we have to be prepared for disaster," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, who heads Los Angeles County's Public Health Department.

Fielding also repeated previous assurances that residents face no health hazards from radioactive fallout being blown from Japan's failing nuclear power plants to the West Coast.

"We have learned never to say never, but all the scenarios we have looked at there is no threat from radiation," he said. "We are at very, very low levels that could not cause harm."

He also responded to news reports about a run on potassium iodide tablets by people wanting to shield themselves from radioactive contamination. Fielding said the medication has many side effects and should be taken only when directed by a health professional.

Fielding's comments followed a summit called by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to discuss the tragedy in Japan.

During a news conference at City Hall, Villaraigosa urged residents to visit the emergency preparedness website readyla.org. He also urged families to develop a plan for communicating if landline and cellular telephone service is disrupted.

Villaraigosa announced that the city has reached agreement with the Federal Emergency

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Management Agency, which will deploy workers at the Los Angeles' Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate disaster response efforts.

Dr. Lucy Jones, a seismology expert with the U.S. Geological Survey, said the earthquake and aftershocks in Japan did not mean there would be an increased risk to Southern California.

"However, this is earthquake country and we have to be constantly prepared," Jones said, adding that researchers in the U.S. are studying the early warning system used by the Japanese which provided a 30-second warning to some areas.

Villaraigosa said he has ordered city agencies to examine the impact of the Japanese earthquake and the city's preparedness. The Building and Safety Department, for instance, will determine whether building codes need to be updated.

In addition, he is creating an Emergency Response Council that will activate essential departments in an disaster, update emergency plans and train municipal workers in disaster response.

"The ongoing emergency in Japan should remind everyone throughout the world that disasters - natural and man-made - can strike without warning," Villaraigosa said.

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