Alternative Terrorist Attacks on the Twin Ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach

Abstract

This chapter sums up some of the recent research on the potential economic impacts of terrorist attacks on the twin ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach. The research considers two types of attack—radiological bombs in the ports and conventional bombs to blow up access bridges, either together or in isolation. The analysis uses the Southern California Planning Model (SCPM), a 3,226 zone input–output model of the five-county Southern Californian region with an endogenous transportation network (this is the SCPM2 model). The research measures the business interruption losses associated with alternative scenarios that vary with port closure periods, bridge reconstruction and the duration of radiation plume evacuations. These losses could range up to $35 billion, approximately two-thirds of which are interregional.