Post-quake callers overload phone systems
The state Office of Emergency Services issues an appeal to limit dialing so that 911 calls can get through.

Ignoring repeated warnings, and isolating acquired knowledge, points to systemic failures. It is of the essence to advocate not only for public awareness to avoid future scenarios like this one that can combine with an actual hazard generating catastrophic reactions, but most importantly to campaign for the public service dimension of privatized communications, and the responsibility they carry, alongside technical improvements. This is quite a common, recurring, and widespread problem. While Los Angeles and most of the metropolitan areas in the US West Coast have adequate building codes, which still need broader actual implementation, and better resources than most earthquake prone areas, it is not a matter of "if" but of "when" something critically severe will take place.

And again, with its own failures, it was SMSing, and the social networks linked to SMSs, such as twitter, that pushed the quick reaction to the quake, gave reports of its severity, and alerted more efficiently family, friends, and the audience receptive to such media noise, far sooner and with more stability than other channels, again pointing to the advantages of enabling a real public service structure around SMS and related technologies.