Los Angeles Orders Quake Retrofit for Many Older Buildings

Recent Associated Press Article This is not necessarily regarding land, but it projects that capital in Los Angeles County will focus on developed Real Estate. Thousands of older wood and concrete apartment buildings vulnerable to collapse in a major earthquake would get costly upgrades under sweeping retrofitting rules passed Friday by the Los Angeles City Council. The mandate would affect as many as 13,500 so-called soft-first-story buildings, which are typically wood-frame structures with large spaces such as parking lots on the ground floor. As many as 1,500 brittle concrete buildings would also require upgrades. The measure passed on a 12-0 vote. "There's no question that we're going to have an earthquake. The question is, when?" Councilman Gil Cedillo said. "In here we've laid out the groundwork for the seismic retrofitting that needs to be done." Before the vote, representatives for residential landlords and commercial building owners signaled their approval of the plan — while expressing concerns about potential costs. City leaders will now have to agree on how the estimated $5,000-per-unit retrofitting would be split between tenants and landlords. The law currently allows owners to increase rents up to $75 per month to pay for a required earthquake retrofit, but both sides say such a hike is too steep. One proposal is to divide the costs 50-50 and cap possible monthly rent increases at $38. To help pay for the upgrades, apartment groups are looking for certain financial support, such as breaks on property and state income taxes and business license and building permit fees for owners who retrofit. The proposed quake retrofitting mandate is part of an effort by Mayor Eric Garcetti to make the city resilient to major earthquakes. His plan released in December focuses on rapidly identifying and retrofitting at-risk residential and commercial buildings, fortifying major water systems that would be severed by a huge quake and keeping telecommunications systems operating. The goal of the mayor's broad plan is to keep the region sufficiently functional to avoid a long-term economic collapse despite what seismologists say is an inevitable jolt on the order of a magnitude-7.8 quake caused by a 200-mile-long rupture of the mighty San Andreas Fault. Wood apartments will be given seven years to complete construction once an owner is ordered by the Department of Building and Safety to retrofit the building. Owners of brittle concrete buildings will have 25 years to do the work. Estimates for upgrades for soft-first-story structures range from $60,000 to $130,000 per apartment building. Taller concrete buildings can cost millions of dollars to strengthen. Studies estimate that a massive earthquake in the Los Angeles area could kill up to 18,000 people and cause some $250 billion in damage. Sixteen people were killed in the collapse of a soft-first-story building during the Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake. The magnitude-6.7 jolt was the last significant seismic disaster in the Los Angeles region. U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones, the mayor's earthquake science adviser who was a consultant for the council, was on hand for the vote. She pushed for passage of the plan, saying lives would be saved. "It's not every day we have the opportunity to save lives," Council President Herb Wesson said after the vote. "Today we had that opportunity."

Oar Fish washes up on California Shore and San Andreas Movie’s Debut?

New reports indicate an oar fish ran ashore off the California coast near Catalina Island. The movie San Andreas is about a major earthquake in California on the San Andreas Fault. So what do the two have to do with one another? Japanese legend says an oarfish coming ashore is an earthquake indicator. This folklore goes back centuries. News reports say this oarfish has no major injuries, so why did it come up from the deep. The Japanese myth has some science behind it. The oarfish is a deep water fish and it rarely if ever comes to the surface according to marine biologists. The oarfish comes ashore because he is sick or dying, or they feel tremor under the sea. So if an oarfish swims to the surface then you should run to the hills. Now this fish may actually be sick and if there is only one found ashore then it may just indicate this one needed a doctor. But if more come ashore then we need to ask the scientists if there are tremor readings in the Pacific. “ What science tell us about warnings from the earth. The Iquisitr news article quotes: When an earthquake occurs there can be a build-up of pressure in the rocks which can lead to electrostatic charges that cause electrically-charged ions to be released into the water,” Dr. Grant explained. “This can lead to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which is a toxic compound. The charged ions can also oxidize organic matter which could either kill the fish or force them to leave the deep ocean and rise to the surface. The geophysical processes behind these kinds of sighting can happen before an earthquake.” The oarfish found on Catalina Island was sighted on Monday. As it just so happens, the USGS reports an earthquake occurred on Tuesday within the same general area, although it was centered further north within California. Coincidence? End Inquisitr article. So the earthquake may have already happened and in this case it only affected this fish and other not seen yet. But if you live in California and or you own real estate then earthquake have to be a concern. If you own land then it is less of a problem unless it is the “big one”. Either way it is something to pay attention to and it is great free press for the San Andreas movie.