The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, Aug. 4, to order a comprehensive earthquake preparedness plan, a move with direct implications for South Bay residents who live along one of the region's most dangerous fault lines.

The motion, introduced by Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, directs the county's Office of Emergency Management and the Chief Executive Office Countywide Communications to develop the plan and present it at the Sept. 29 board meeting, according to the Daily News. The county's Fire and Public Works departments must also seek input from Caltech seismologist Lucy Jones and UCLA seismology experts.

Jones, quoted in coverage of the vote, put the risk bluntly: "In L.A. County, everyone lives within five miles of an active fault."

For Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, El Segundo and Hawthorne, the risk is especially close. The Newport-Inglewood Fault runs 47 miles from Culver City through Inglewood and directly through the South Bay's coastal communities before reaching Newport Beach. Studies show the fault is capable of producing a magnitude-6.0 to 7.4 earthquake. The last major quake on the fault, the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, measured magnitude 6.4 and killed 115 people.

Barger's motion was prompted by a University of Hawai'i at Mānoa study finding that tectonic stress on portions of the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems near the Cajon Pass has reached its highest level in at least 1,000 years. The motion calls for the county to prepare for a magnitude-7.8 quake, which computer modeling suggests would produce violent shaking across six Southern California counties.

The plan will require the county to identify gaps in its ability to provide emergency services, repair ruptured roads and other infrastructure, and ensure resident safety immediately after a major quake. It also calls for a "Know Your Risk" website with preparedness information for residents and businesses, plus year-round public engagement including promotion of the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill on Oct. 15.

"Science is sending us a clear warning, and we have a responsibility to listen," Barger said after the vote.

Jones noted that it has been 32 years since the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 72 people, injured about 9,000 and caused an estimated $25 billion in damage. Many current residents have forgotten or were too young to remember it.

The county has not released a detailed vote tally.

The OEM must present the completed plan at the Board of Supervisors' Sept. 29 meeting. Residents can participate in the Great ShakeOut drill on Oct. 15 and watch for the county's forthcoming "Know Your Risk" website.