For years, the city of Long Beach has been proactive at addressing seismic vulnerabilities within its communities.
The city served as the beta test site for California’s earthquake early warning system; it has taken steps recently to retrofit the Civic Center and Community Hospital for seismic safety; and it has been preparing a comprehensive inventory of dangerous buildings in the city that may collapse in a major earthquake.
Unfortunately, those plans for a seismic safety database of earthquake-vulnerable buildings in the city have been delayed by COVID-19.
The pandemic has slowed progress on the project because of restrictions on entering buildings to do some of the work, the Long Beach Post News recently reported. Long Beach expects to spend several months having engineers map and inspect up to 3,500 older commercial and residential buildings in the city.
Development Services Director Oscar Orsi told the paper in a recent interview that the city is laying the groundwork to create a more robust program than what other cities have devised.
Right now, Long Beach officials are wrapping up the first phase of the city’s earthquake safety inventory project, which includes a comprehensive report of what other cities and counties have done for similar databases, the Long Beach Post News reported in a Sept. 24 article. City Council members are expected to review the report by early next year so the inventory can begin.
Optimum Seismic has worked with Long Beach officials in the past on educational programming designed to inform building owners about the risks they may face should a major earthquake strike. This is a city that cares about the safety of its residents and the resilience of the community.
Their earthquake safety inventory, once complete, will provide a snapshot of the risks the Long Beach community faces. That will be the first step in informing residents about those dangers and developing a plan of how to address them.
Safer cities, one building at a time
Several California cities have already taken steps to identify their most vulnerable buildings, and many are requiring seismic retrofits to make them safer.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2015 pushed for the nation’s most sweeping earthquake retrofit laws, requiring seismic fortification of pre-1978 wood-frame soft-story buildings and pre-1977 non-ductile concrete structures.
This came on the heels of retrofit ordinances in San Francisco, Berkeley, and other cities.
Since then, additional cities such as Richmond, Freemont, San Jose, Oakland, Alameda, Santa Clara County, Los Angeles County, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica have adopted or are considering similar policies of their own.
The total number of buildings made safer by these actions in California is hard to determine.
Of 12,891 vulnerable soft-story structures identified in L.A. alone – nearly 92% (11,830) have submitted retrofit plans; 59% (7,723) have had permits issued; and 38% (5.020) have completed the retrofit process, according to a Los Angeles Department of Building Safety soft-story compliance report dated Oct. 1, 2020.
That’s more than 5,000 buildings retrofitted for earthquake protection.
These buildings each have 16 or more dwelling units – 16 or more families.
Multiply that by 5,000 and we’re talking about at least 80,000 units with potentially a staggering 240,000 lives protected.
Those 80,000 units represent just 38% of the soft story structures slated for retrofits.
Clearly, the number of people living under safer conditions because of the retrofit law will push towards nearly 1 million people once the retrofit project is completed.
That is heartening news. Nearly one million lives protected. Thousands of properties and investments safeguarded.
A more resilient city capable of carrying on after a major quake.
