Like aftershocks rattling the region, the death and destruction from the Northridge earthquake is triggering calls for tougher building codes and expanded efforts to strengthen structures across Los Angeles and other quake-prone parts of California.
As with every major California earthquake in the last 60 years, the toll of last Monday's 6.6-magnitude temblor in lives and property damage has thrust the issue of seismic safety to the forefront of public attention.
Earthquake safety experts warn that as devastating as the quake was, leaving 51 dead and more than 2,300 buildings uninhabitable, the losses could have been far worse.
"We have been so lucky," said Samuel Aroni, former dean of UCLA's School of Architecture and Urban Planning. "What would have happened if this earthquake had occurred at 4 in the afternoon instead of 4 in the morning? Thousands of people would have been killed."
Aroni said only by learning the lessons from this quake and engaging in a concerted effort to prevent the collapse of buildings and freeways can the loss of life and property be reduced the next time the earth moves violently. "We can't rely on luck," he said.
Building officials, engineers and geologists said in interviews that a major part of that effort must involve the tightening of building codes and the strengthening of structures--from smaller brick buildings to apartment complexes and commercial structures to parking garages, and City Hall.
As squadrons of building inspectors examined thousands of structures that suffered the quake's wrath, a preliminary picture began to emerge about the types of buildings that did well and those that fared poorly.
"The newer buildings in the city did not suffer the damage the older ones did," said Bob Steinbach, emergency management coordinator for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. A Times computer analysis found that two-thirds of the buildings declared unsafe were built before codes were strengthened after the 1971 Sylmar quake.
Building officials credited those code revisions with improving the seismic safety of newer buildings.
In the weeks, months and years to come, the question of why some buildings survived and others failed will be the subject of much investigation and discussion at City Hall and in the state Capitol. City Council hearings are planned in the coming weeks, after building officials complete their assessments.
