Moving to LA, is there a way to look up a building or apartment to see if its Earthquake safe? (Is that possible?) (for sale)

[nanoxnano]

This might be silly question, and I am not sure if there is even such a thing. Is there a way to look up a building or apartment to see if its Earthquake safe? Just a piece of mind I guess.. Thanks

[victorhernandez]

Nowhere in LA is earthquake safe, meaning earthquakes can strike anywhere in the city.

All buildings are built following strict codes that make sure they are able to resist an earthquake.

My advice to you is to avoid buildings that have a soft first floor (ie: buildings where the garage is the first floor and apartments are above it).
Also Google about "liquefaction" areas in LA.
Those are areas where the soil is saturated or sandy which makes it susceptible to cause more damage when an earthquake strikes.

[JustMike77]

Your best bet would be newer construction. I know that when they rebuilt my townhouse after the 1994 quake they followed 1995 codes which were MUCH stricter that the 1978 codes it was originally built with. Now we have sheer walls between each unit and other enhancements.

[Texamichiforniasota]

Originally Posted by JustMike77

Your best bet would be newer construction. I know that when they rebuilt my townhouse after the 1994 quake they followed 1995 codes which were MUCH stricter that the 1978 codes it was originally built with. Now we have sheer walls between each unit and other enhancements.

Agree, when earthquake construction codes are updated, existing structures are grandfathered. Although there may be some future retrofits required, for now, the newer a building, the more strict codes it was built under.

The biggest risk of injury during a quake is falling furniture and other unsecured objects. For structures, the big risks are surface rupture, liquidation, and tsunamis. Tsunamis are rare in So-Cal. Liquidation and fault rupture risk zone maps can be founds at the California Geological Survey:

CGS Information Warehouse

Keep in mind there is some debate amongst scientists what age the last earthquake had to occur for a fault to be active (but generally agreed to be about ~10,000 years), and geology isn't an exact science, so some faults one geologist may think ruptured 9,500 years ago and another might think it was 10,500 years.

[LoveMeSomeSFVHouses]

Agreed with the new construction/ grandfathered comments. Also a note on liquefaction... it can literally change on the same street. Most of the valley is considered liquefaction zone. There is a report called a Natural Hazard Disclosure that gets done for sales. I've never tried it, but you might be able to have an NHD report done on an apartment you're interested in? The costs are nominal.