East Coast vs. West Coast Calamities: First an Earthquake, Now a Hurricane -- And They Fear SoCal?
In the few years we spent "back east" we heard many a disparaging thing about our native California, not the least of which was its propensity for natural and man-made calamities, from earthquakes and flooding to wildfires and riots.
Greenwich Village.
You can just hear your aunt saying she'd never, ever settle down in SoCal.
But this summer is giving the East Coast a little taste of its own medicine.
After all ...
... if you wouldn't want to live in California because of temblors (fair enough), you really wouldn't want to live in a place where brick buildings have never gone out of style, especially after yesterday's 5.8 shocker that rocked the Eastern Seaboard.
Anything bigger and parts of New York would have been a pile of bricks.
Forget about it. You don't want to be anywhere near Manhattan if a big one hits. At least we have a chance at survival:
In L.A. we have building standards that would help our structures withstand 7s and perhaps beyond, at least theoretically.
But wait, there's more. You say Malibu wildfires? We say ...
Hurricane Irene. Not the beloved L.A. DJ, but a can of tropical whoop ass set slam into North Carolina and head all the way up to New York and beyond this week.
Add in the insufferable East Coast summer humidity, and that old question seems to come up:
Why would anyone want to live there?
[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]
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