LA Council Members Seek Update on Retrofit Programs After Turkey-Syria Earthquake

After a 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week, killing more than 23,000 people, some members of the Los Angeles City Council are seeking an update on the progress of the city’s seismic retrofit programs, according to a motion filed Friday.

The San Andreas Fault, which runs through California, is capable of producing an earthquake of similar magnitude, according to experts.

In a motion on Friday, Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky sought for the council to instruct the Department of Building and Safety to report within 60 days with an update to the department’s 2018 progress report on the city’s retrofit programs.

The council adopted ordinances in 2015 and 2016 mandating that buildings built before 1978 and are classified as wood-frame and soft-story be retrofitted.

“Without proper strengthening, these vulnerable buildings may be subjected to structural failure during and/or after an earthquake resulting in injury and death,” the motion read.

On Friday, the council adjourned in memory of the victims of the earthquake.

“Their losses and their devastation is not only a tragedy that impacts the entire world, but I think it also hits very close to home here,’” Councilwoman Nithya Raman said, pointing out the similarities of the San Andreas Fault.

“So we know that devastation. We’ve felt it here. And we felt that despair. But seeing the images, it is really unfathomable what they’re facing,” Raman added.

Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez said she looks forward to figuring out how the council can support the road to recovery.

“As Angelenos, I hope we stand in solidarity with the people of Turkey and Syria, as part of a global community,” Hernandez said.