Soft-Story Buildings and Their Significance
Why are They Important
Soft-story buildings do not perform well in earthquakes. Without a seismic retrofit, 80 percent of San Francisco's weakest wood-frame buildings are expected to collapse or to suffer damage beyond repair in the large earthquake scientists say will hit the city within decades.
Large Earthquake Predicted
A strong and deadly earthquake is virtually certain to strike on one of California's major seismic faults within the next 30 years, scientists say.
UCERF: Map of Earthquake Probabilities, Major California Faults
Earthquake Danger to Soft-story Buildings
A new study on earthquake dangers in San Francisco focuses on soft-story buildings; wood-frame structures with a window or garage where there might otherwise be a solid wall. The initial study focused on 2,800 of those structures that are three floors or higher and have at least five housing units. It factored in an earthquake of a magnitude between 6.9 and 7.9. The study found that:
Extent: 80 percent of those soft-story buildings would collapse or be destroyed beyond repair.
Residents: 58,000 residents live in soft-story buildings.
Businesses: 2,100 businesses are situated in soft-story buildings.
Workers: 6,900 people work in soft-story buildings.
Damage: A major quake would cause $4 billion in damage to soft-story buildings.
Source: Community Action Plan for Seismic Safety