Earthquakes Hit California Daily. Act Now to be Resilient

BY ALI SAHABI

This month, an estimated 18 million Americans will take part in the Great ShakeOut, a national safety drill designed to heighten awareness of the many ways to prepare for a major earthquake.

The month will be filled with messages about earthquake risk and personal safety, culminating with the annual drill, which happens on the third Thursday of the month — October 21 this year. For more information, visit ShakeOut.org.

While having adequate supplies on hand and learning the drop-and-cover techniques recommended to avoid injury from falling objects are very important, these once-a-year practices are not a panacea to larger, more looming issues.

“The Big One” is coming, and it’s going to be like nothing any of us have ever experienced. Experts say tens of thousands of buildings are at extreme risk of failure or collapse when it happens.

A recent study by CoreLogic estimates that a major quake along the San Andreas Fault could cause $289 billion in destruction, including 3.5 million homes damaged. What’s not calculated in that figure is the residual economic loss from broken infrastructure, shuttered businesses and public services, widespread homelessness, and general chaos.

The 1994 Northridge quake caused $67 billion in widespread damage — ranking it as the second costliest natural disaster in U.S. history behind Hurricane Katrina — yet the 6.7 magnitude of that temblor was relatively mild compared with what could be. Seismologists agree that a major quake of 7.5 magnitude or more is due to rattle California to its core. It’s just a matter of when.

This month, I want us to be especially candid with each other and ourselves.

During this month’s ShakeOut, we’ll pack emergency kits for our children’s schools, and for the trunks of our cars, and practice the duck-and-cover technique at work. Yet, how many of us are going to take steps to prevent the threats we face in our daily lives in Orange County from becoming much more grave disasters that can disrupt our lives and economy for many years, and even decades to come?

• Will your apartment building be habitable or rubble after the quake? • Will older, tilt-up warehouses and high-rises still be functioning? • Will you or a loved one be among the million people left homeless?

California officials and business leaders need to take serious actions to sustain Orange County and other communities both socially and economically. Optimum Seismic has been recommending these vital steps in this process for many years: • Prepare inventories identifying vulnerable structures and other hazards in our communities.

• Raise public awareness of the risks faced locally, and the actions that can be taken now to build resilience.

• Implement incentive programs to assist building owners in retrofitting their older building to protect the public.

California ranks as the sixth largest economy in the world. In fact, 17 percent the nation’s job growth and 24 percent of its gross domestic product increase between 2012 and 2016 can be attributed to California, according to Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.

If the Golden State were to suffer a catastrophe of epic proportions from an earthquake, the impacts would be felt throughout the nation. Resiliency against earthquakes is not only a California issue, but also a matter of national, and potentially global concern.

The time for taking action is now. Call Optimum Seismic at 833-978-7664 for a complimentary evaluation of your building today.

About the Author: Ali Sahabi, a licensed General Engineering Contractor (GEC), is an expert in seismic resilience and sustainability. He is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, Inc., which has completed more than 3,500 seismic retrofit engineering and construction projects, including adaptive reuse and renovation projects for multifamily residential, commercial, and industrial buildings throughout California.