TORRANCE AIRPORT IS A CRITICAL SOUTH BAY RESOURCE

After conducting a successful large-scale disaster drill, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) concluded that general aviation pilots, aircraft, and airports (such as Torrance Airport) are key resources in event of a national or regional disaster emergency. A May 2013 report by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)identified the critical role of airports in disaster recovery, including:

• airborne search and rescue;
• medical evacuation;
• moving emergency medical supplies and emergency personnel;
• firefighting and law enforcement;
• damage assessment and resource needs assessment, particularly related to other critical infrastructure and hazardous materials incidents;
• media and VIP transport.

General Aviation airports, pilots and airplanes played crucial roles in immediate relief and recovery from local disasters in:

• the 1989 Loma Prieta, CA Earthquake
• the 1994 Northridge,CA Earthquake
• the 2001 Seattle, WA (Nisqually) Earthquake
• the 2005 Hurricane Katrina
• the 2009 Samoan Earthquake and Tsunami
• the 2010 Haiti Earthquake
• the 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake
• the 2011 (February) New Zealand Earthquake
• the 2011 Japanese Earthquake
• the 2014 Napa Valley, CA Earthquake
• the 2015 mud slides near Tehachapi (Hwy 38 and I5)
• July 2016 flooding in West Virginia
• the 2021 Dixie fire in California

The Torrance Airport Association is leading the efforts to include our airport resources in the local, regional, and state disaster response and recovery planning activities and to organize our local pilots and aircraft to support those activities. In a serious regional emergency, Torrance pilots and airport businesses are ready to respond.