What is Soft Story Building?

A soft-story building is a structure which has a weaker first floor and is unable to carry the weight of the stories above during an earthquake. The first floor generally would have large openings in the perimeter walls such as garages, tuck under parking or even large windows.

 

What are the Chances of major earthquake...

Earthquake scientists predict that there is a 99.9% chance of a 7-magnitude quake hitting Los Angeles in the next decade or so. If this earthquake strikes before you've had a chance to retrofit your residential or commercial building, many lives could be lost and massive property damage could result. Since Los Angeles codes state that building owners are liable for any loss of life and damage to property within their buildings, you could end up facing enormous liability losses.

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It is the LAW, 

The goal of the ordinance is to reduce the risk of injury or loss of life from the effects of a major earthquake. During the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, many soft-story buildings caused loss of life and significant property damage.

 

Not only is it required by law, but it is also in the owners' best interest to implement the seismic retrofitting on their buildings. This will help prevent loss of life and injury, as well as mitigate significant and expensive property damage in case of a major earthquake event.