COUNTY NOT READY TO COPE WITH DISASTER, STUDY FINDS.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

More than 17 months after the Sept. 11 attacks, a new study warned Thursday that Los Angeles County government is unprepared to quickly restore vital public services after a disaster or terrorist attack.

Radio dispatchers would find it hard to talk to sheriff's deputies in patrol cars and could have problems sending firetrucks and ambulances, according to the report.

``It's quite serious,'' said Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who asked for the study after learning that the 2001 terrorist attacks crippled many business and government operations in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. ``The report reveals the failure of the county to effectively be prepared following a terrorist attack.''

Doctors and nurses could have problems getting patients' medical records at county hospitals and clinics, while officials could experience serious delays in issuing tens of thousands of welfare and child support checks, according to the report.

Also, individuals and businesses might be unable to pay property taxes or obtain building permits or other permits. Courts could find it impossible to track files and hearings. Even sending social workers to check on foster children would be hard hit.

The report, which examined how quickly county government could restore vital computer and communications systems after a major disaster, found that 58 percent of county departments have no plans in place to get computer systems up and running within two days. Of those departments with plans, most are insufficient to quickly restore services to the public.

``A single major event can jeopardize the delivery of critical services to the county's residents,'' county Chief Information Officer Jon Fullinwider wrote in the report.

``In the event a major disaster causes a loss of these resources, the services may be unavailable or may not be delivered in a timely or effective manner causing significant consequences to citizens in need of those services.''

The county provides critical law enforcement, fire and emergency response services in disasters. It also provides public health, mental health and welfare services, prosecutes and jails criminals, protects children from abuse, maintains roads and dams, operates libraries and serves residents in many other ways.

The county also serves 58 contract cities that rely on the county to provide police and fire protection, public works and other services.

Located in one of the most-disaster-prone areas in the United States, Los Angeles County led the nation in federal disaster declarations in the 1990s with nine disasters, including earthquakes, floods, wildfires, storms and the 1992 riots.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, county officials have stepped up their efforts to prepare for a biological or chemical terrorist attack, recently inoculating health care workers with the smallpox vaccine.

Antonovich will introduce a motion Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting to direct all county departments to participate in a plan to keep backup computer files and adopt procedures so systems can be restored quickly after a disaster.

Under Fullinwider's recommendations to develop plans to keep computer systems working in a disaster, it would cost $400,000 to acquire software and hire a consultant to help implement the plans and make backup copies of millions of county computer files.

Bob Garrott, assistant manager of the county Office of Emergency Management - which coordinates planning for disasters and works in coordination with Sheriff Lee Baca to oversee the emergency response in a disaster - said if the county lost some of its computer systems in a disaster, staffing would have to be increased considerably to provide services to the public.

``We become more and more dependent on information technology and computers every day,'' Garrott said. ``Processing checks for welfare recipients is all done by computers. It wouldn't stop our functioning, but it would certainly impact our functioning.''

Garrott said law enforcement, fire and health officials regularly conduct training to prepare for disasters and, given the number of disasters the county has experienced in the past decade, officials believe they are fairly prepared.

``But anytime somebody says there are holes in our emergency preparedness, we look at that to see what we can do to fix it,'' Garrott said.

Fullinwider said emergency response personnel could still respond to a disaster despite technology failures, but that computer breakdowns could disrupt communications equipment.

Fullinwider's report found that a majority of services the county provides depend on 569 computer systems that could be damaged in a disaster, making it difficult for the county to provide services to the public. The study also found that increased efforts are needed to prevent attacks on county computer systems, noting that the number of attacks nationwide increased from 3,700 in 1998 to 82,000 in 2002.

As part of the study, Fullinwider surveyed county departments, which identified 623 critical services that would have a significant impact to the public if those services were interrupted or unavailable for a period of time.

Of those, 33 percent involved public safety, 27 percent public health, 24 percent finance and administration, 5 percent social services, 3 percent public works and 8 percent miscellaneous.

``More than three-fourth of the services identified would have serious to moderate impact on the public if the services were lost or disrupted,'' Fullinwider wrote.

Only 42 percent of the departments reported that they had recovery plans in place that were regularly tested and only 24 percent of departments considered the plans sufficient.

``I would say most facilities don't have adequate backup systems because we have never been involved in a war environment where terrorist activities could shut down the public and private sectors,'' Antonovich said.

``It's also important that the private sector prepare themselves. For the community to get back on its feet, it will require the private sector to get back on its feet. You are talking about jobs, goods and services.''