Soft Story Seismic Retrofit

2 February, 2025

Northridge Earthquake: 31 Years Later, Lessons for Orange County Preparedness

By |2025-03-14T20:38:05+00:00February 2nd, 2025|AAOC, earthquake preparedness, Earthquake Resilience, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

On January 17, 1994, Southern California awoke to devastation as the Northridge Earthquake shook the region. In just 20 seconds, a magnitude 6.7 tremor caused widespread destruction, altering lives and landscapes. Though Northridge was at the epicenter, the quake’s effects reverberated throughout Southern California, including nearby areas like Orange County. […]

4 January, 2025

Is Your San Diego Apartment Ready for the Big One? The Case for Seismic Retrofitting

By |2025-01-14T18:27:51+00:00January 4th, 2025|SDCAA, Seismic Safety, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Northern California in December 2024 serves as a sobering reminder of the seismic risks faced by all of California, including San Diego. While this recent quake caused limited damage, it highlights the urgent need for apartment owners and managers in San Diego to take action […]

4 May, 2024

Enhance Earthquake Safety in Your Apartment Building for Investment Protection and Marketability Boost

By |2024-05-06T22:17:57+00:00May 4th, 2024|Adaptive Reuse, apartments seismic retrofit, SDCAA, Seismic Retrofit, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Most older apartment buildings fall short of today’s standards for earthquake safety and fail to offer the types of interior spaces tenants want.

If your apartment building was constructed before the mid-1970s, it could benefit from an upgrade of both its structural safety and functional design.

Many building owners in these circumstances […]

1 April, 2024

Securing Lives, Investments, and Liability Prevention: Retrofitting Apartment Buildings for Earthquake Safety

By |2024-04-22T18:52:56+00:00April 1st, 2024|AAGLA, Apartment Buildings Earthquake Safety, apartments seismic retrofit, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Earthquakes are a constant threat in California. “The Big One” can hit anytime, and cause severe damage to vulnerable apartment buildings, along with death and injuries.

Apartment buildings with a “soft-story” are particularly at-risk of earthquake damage. Soft-story buildings usually have a large, open ground floor space like a parking area, […]

2 February, 2024

Basics Of A Soft-Story Seismic Retrofit

By |2024-02-07T21:53:20+00:00February 2nd, 2024|SDCAA, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Every building is different, and the approaches to safeguarding a structure against earthquake damage are incredibly diverse.

Yet in spite of these differences, there are some similarities in retrofit approaches based on building type – one of the most common being wood-framed, soft-story structures.

These apartment buildings, characterized by open parking on […]

3 October, 2023

San Diego Apartments Face Earthquake Risk

By |2023-10-17T20:25:44+00:00October 3rd, 2023|Apartment Buildings Earthquake Safety, apartments seismic retrofit, SDCAA, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

San Diego’s earthquake risk is significantly higher than previously thought, according to recent maps prepared by the California Geological Survey.

Recent information reveals the region’s fault zones are significantly larger and far-reaching than previously assumed – stretching along the Rose Canyon fault, an extension of the Los Angeles Newport-Inglewood fault, which […]

1 August, 2023

Apartment Owners’ Actions Can Reduce Earthquake Losses

By |2023-08-22T15:45:49+00:00August 1st, 2023|AAGLA, earthquake preparedness, Earthquake Protection, Earthquake Resilience, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Thirty million people from Sacramento to Baja Mexico felt 24 shocks and aftershocks over three terrifying days when Ridgecrest was struck by 6.4- and 7.1-magnitude earthquakes on July 4 and 5 in 2019.

The Mojave Desert quakes triggered extensive ground movement that is believed to have raised the major earthquake risk […]

11 July, 2023

Retrofit Laws Aim to Make Quake Vulnerable Buildings Safer

By |2023-07-20T22:29:51+00:00July 11th, 2023|Building Safety, Earthquake Retrofit, Non-Ductile Concrete Buildings, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit, steel moment frame”|

A number of Southern California cities have adopted seismic retrofit requirements that go beyond the earthquake retrofit ordinance passed by Los Angeles in 2015.

These cities are ordering vulnerable “steel moment frame” buildings to be upgraded.

A popular type of construction in which a building’s skeleton is made of steel beams and […]

3 July, 2023

Earthquake Retrofits of Apartment Buildings Protect Lives, Investments and Prevent Liability

By |2023-07-11T16:18:00+00:00July 3rd, 2023|AAGLA, Earthquake Retrofit, Earthquake Retrofit Benefits, Earthquake Retrofits, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Earthquakes are a constant threat in California. “The Big One” can hit anytime, and cause severe damage to vulnerable apartment buildings, along with death and injuries.

Apartment buildings with a “soft-story” are particularly at-risk of earthquake damage. Soft-story buildings usually have a large, open ground floor space like a parking area, […]

1 July, 2023

Quake Safety: Retrofit, Insurance, Or Both?

By |2023-07-11T16:10:58+00:00July 1st, 2023|AAOC, Earthquake Safety, Earthquakes, Soft Story Seismic Retrofit|

Insurance carriers track the pulse of California’s earthquake liabilities, just as they monitor trends in fire, flood, hurricanes, and other hazards that cause claims to be filed for property damage, injury or death.

Warnings from seismologists that California is long overdue for a major earthquake has property owners and insurance actuaries […]

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