LA Earthquake Program: Thousands of Buildings to Be Inspected?
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iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) — City building officials believe that 29,000 older apartment buildings in Los Angeles will require in-person inspections to decide which are vulnerable to collapse during major earthquakes.
The 29,000 buildings represent every apartment building built in the city before 1978. Inspectors will be looking for “soft-story wood structures,” which are a particular danger during severe earthquakes.
The most notable instance of these types of buildings failing was during the 1994 Northridge earthquake, when 200 such structures suffered major damage and 16 people in the Northridge Meadows apartment complex were killed.
Because no city data exists to determine which apartments are wood-framed soft-story, inspectors must venture to each of the 29,000 buildings and decide which need further inspection.
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