Earthquakes Safety

City Councilman Richard Alatorre accused the board of the struggling Southwest Museum on Wednesday of being "a very close-knit group" that treats the museum as "their personal property" in pushing ahead with a plan to vacate its landmark Mt. Washington home.

Some of the most extensive damage and loss of life from recent earthquakes in California have occurred in apartment houses where dwellings sit on top of a ground-level parking garage or a storefront. The shaking undermines the bottom floor, causing the buildings to collapse and in some cases to pancake. After years of study and debate, San Francisco on Thursday formally adopted a new law requiring owners to retrofit thousands of these so-called wood-frame “soft story” buildings, marking the most sweeping seismic regulations in California in years.

More than half a mile of tunnel walls constructed earlier this year along the Vermont Avenue subway line are thinner than originally designed, transit officials disclosed Friday, but a review team has concluded that the walls can still withstand a major earthquake. The undersized walls span nearly 12% of the twin tunnels that run north-south from Hollywood down to Koreatown, a figure that alarmed some critics of the $5.8-billion subway.

Voters overwhelmingly gave themselves permission to make earthquake safety upgrades without triggering a property tax reassessment when they passed Proposition 13 on Tuesday. Approved by 84.5% of voters, it was the least controversial of the five measures on the ballot. Put before voters by the Legislature and governor, it had no organized opposition. Previously, buildings made of unreinforced brick and concrete blocks — among the most likely to fail in an earthquake — were subject to reassessment 15 years after seismic upgrades were completed.

Previously secret oil company data reveal a major active fault system under metropolitan Los Angeles that most likely caused the magnitude 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, researchers said Thursday. This buried fracture may be capable of larger and even more damaging earthquakes than the 1994 Northridge quake, according to the research, published today in Science.

The Rowland Unified School District will conduct its first districtwide earthquake drill on April 19. The district will simulate an earthquake at 8:40 a.m. as part of "Be Aware . . . Prepare," the theme for California Earthquake Preparedness Month. During the "quake," all students, staff and visitors at the district's schools in Rowland Heights, La Puente, Walnut and West Covina will seek protection. The district office in Rowland Heights will act as central headquarters.

Some of the most extensive damage and loss of life from recent earthquakes in California have occurred in apartment houses where dwellings sit on top of a ground-level parking garage or a storefront. The shaking undermines the bottom floor, causing the buildings to collapse and in some cases to pancake. After years of study and debate, San Francisco on Thursday formally adopted a new law requiring owners to retrofit thousands of these so-called wood-frame “soft story” buildings, marking the most sweeping seismic regulations in California in years.

Four free workshops for Simi Valley residents looking for ways to make their homes more earthquake-safe are scheduled for August. The first session, scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, will focus on preventive measures inside the home, such as securing water heaters, heavy furniture and overhead fixtures. Another session will offer the same information in Spanish at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 23. A workshop at 10 a.m. Saturday will concentrate on ways to reinforce walls, bolt foundations and secure chimneys.

A new ordinance requires owners to make improvements to 35 commercial buildings deemed unsafe in an earthquake. The unreinforced masonry structures, built before 1947, are primarily in the downtown area along Forest Avenue and Coast Highway, building official John Gustafson said. City building officials say costs for seismic improvements range from $15 to $25 per square foot.

An Anaheim manufacturer of valves that automatically shut off natural gas lines during earthquakes is pushing legislation to require the devices in new homes, even though the state's two biggest gas companies say the valves are unnecessary and perhaps even dangerous. The company sponsoring the measure, Quakemaster Inc., is one of only two firms certified by the state to sell the valves, which would be required in earthquake-prone parts of the state.

Of the five statewide ballot measures voters will take up in June, Proposition 13 is the least controversial, garnering nearly universal support and no formal opposition. Which means, of course, that it has little in common with that other Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that launched a property tax revolt. This year's version would allow owners of all types of buildings to make earthquake safety upgrades without triggering a property tax reassessment. Under current law, buildings made of unreinforced brick and concrete blocks are subject to reassessment 15 years after seismic upgrades are completed.

The Dodgers have halted seismic improvements to Dodger Stadium that began under News Corp. ownership, saying the project was unnecessary and the 43-year-old ballpark is safe. The team quietly implemented a voluntary project in 1999 to upgrade the stadium to current seismic standards after learning that a fault runs directly under the stadium.

John A. Blume, 92, considered the "Father of Earthquake Engineering" for his pioneering advances in designing quake-safe buildings, died March 1 at his home in Hillsborough, Calif. No specific cause of death was given. Blume, born in the small town of Gonzales, Calif., grew up observing problems with structures in the quake-prone state. His father, a construction worker, helped rebuild such San Francisco landmarks as the Palace Hotel and City Hall after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire.

Previously secret oil company data reveal a major active fault system under metropolitan Los Angeles that most likely caused the magnitude 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, researchers said Thursday. This buried fracture may be capable of larger and even more damaging earthquakes than the 1994 Northridge quake, according to the research, published today in Science.

In the latest move to equip much of Los Angeles with automatic gas shut-off valves to prevent fires after an earthquake, the City Council tentatively approved an ordinance Tuesday that would require home and condominium buyers to install the $200 devices within a year. The ordinance also would require that condo owners install the valves whenever a unit in the same building is sold. A condominium association also could choose to install an automatic valve on a master pipe.

With a crisply executed demonstration of the old "duck and cover," about 1,000 students from Noble Avenue Elementary School slipped under their desks and helped the Governor's Office of Emergency Services kick off an earthquake safety campaign Tuesday morning. The event--titled "Ready to Ride It Out?"

With a crisply executed demonstration of the old "duck and cover," about 1,000 students from Noble Avenue Elementary School slipped under their desks and helped the Governor's Office of Emergency Services kick off an earthquake safety campaign Tuesday morning. The event--titled "Ready to Ride It Out?"

Prompted by earthquake safety concerns, officials at the California Museum of Science and Industry have closed two of their major buildings, and directors at the Southwest Museum, facing $2 million in overdue repairs and seismic safety upgrades, are seeking a new home, perhaps abandoning the site that has housed their collection for more than 80 years.

Defective welds in the Los Angeles Coliseum press box will be repaired immediately, the Coliseum Commission decided Wednesday. But the commission voted not to test two disputed vertical columns that are crucial to the structure's support. The vote against the testing of the columns was 5 to 3 after a heated debate. All three commissioners present who are elected officials voted for testing, while all five appointed members present voted to discontinue it.

When's the last time you told someone you loved them with water purification tablets? Or bought a wrench as the perfect stocking stuffer for your grandmother? Or added duct tape to your Christmas shopping list? Not your idea of getting prepared for the holidays? Well, maybe it should be. As memories of the Northridge earthquake fade from our collective consciousness, sales of emergency preparedness items have diminished as well. But the need is still there, the experts say.