seismic retrofit los angeles
We have all seen the many disasters that occur because of earthquakes, such as the 6.6-magnitude quake in central Norcia, Italy, which killed nearly 300 people (BBC, 2016). Earthquakes are a hugely powerful natural force. If you live in an earthquake-prone area, it can make you feel somewhat helpless to the rage of Mother Nature. Most buildings are constructed with softstories. Softstory buildings are dubbed so as one of their floors are much less rigid than those above them. These can be spaces such as an open-spaced car parking lot that is inadequately reinforced. This makes them less able to withstand earthquake damage. These soft stories are unable to withstand the lateral movements that earthquakes impose. It’s a terrifying thought. Once the softstory goes, the rest of the building collapses down on top of it like vertical dominoes. Worse yet, many buildings in high population areas have softstories. The California Institute of Technology estimated that out of 20,000 soft story b...