Transport-Related Impacts of the Northridge Earthquake

This research estimates the transport-related business interruption impacts of the 1994 Northridge earthquake using a spatial allocation model, SCPM (the Southern California Planning Model) and surveys of businesses and individuals. Total business interruption losses are estimated at more than $6.5 billion, sizeable but much smaller than total structural damage (over $25 billion), with an associated job loss of 69,000 person-years. The four types of transport-related interruptions (commuting, inhibited customer access, and shipping and supply disruptions) totaled more than $1.5 billion, or 27.3% of all local business interruptions, with a job loss of more than 15,700 person-years. In addition, there were commuting travel time losses of at least $33 million and some dislocation of shopping patterns and frequencies. These losses would have been much higher had it not been for the substantial redundancy in Los Angeles' highway system.