Interactive USGS map lets you zoom in to see for yourself

How vulnerable is your apartment to earthquake damage?

If it is located within a fault, landslide, or liquefaction zone, it may be at risk – and a combination of any of these could be disastrous.

Active earthquake faults in Orange County run along the coast and mountain ranges, hitting places such as Huntington Beach and Yorba Linda.

And the hillside communities of Laguna Beach, San Clemente and Santiago Canyon are prone to landslides that can be triggered in a major earthquake, potentially undermining the foundation of a home, or sliding into one.

Liquefaction areas can be found throughout the county, most notably wherever water flows either above or below the ground: In the aquifer-rich region of central and coastal Orange County, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Yorba Linda, to name a few.

Liquefaction amplifies the impacts of seismic waves produced during an earthquake. The ground reacts like Jello-O: jiggling, undulating, and putting the structures built upon it in jeopardy.

The United States Geological Survey has published an interactive map online, enabling the public to search by property address to determine the earthquake risks associated with specific land parcels.

Properties located on or near a fault or liquefaction zone are particularly at risk of damage in an earthquake. Visit the California Earthquake Hazards Zone Application Map at https://maps.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/EQZApp/app/.

If your apartment building is the type proven to be vulnerable to earthquake damage, you should consider having an engineering study done to determine whether any retrofitting work should be done.

What types of buildings are most vulnerable?  

  • Pre-1978 soft-story structures (represented with parking on the ground floor and units built above)
  • Pre-1975 unreinforced masonry buildings 
  • Pre-1980concrete tilt-up buildings
  • Pre-1978 non-ductile concrete structures
  • Pre-1996 steel moment frame buildings

Visit optimumseismic.com for more information, or call us at 323-678-4686.