Researchers to release list of earthquake at-risk LA buildings

UC Berkeley researchers are expected to give Los Angeles a list this week of more than a thousand older concrete buildings that may be at risk of collapse in an earthquake.

The list includes about 1,500 buildings in the city of Los Angeles, said Jack Moehle, a UC Berkeley engineering professor who helped compile the list at the city’s request.

Buildings on the list are constructed from reinforced concrete before 1976, the year when Los Angeles implemented a major change in its building code to require more extensive steel frame supports for concrete buildings, which was believed to have resulted in improved safety in new buildings.

“Buildings of this type, in a region of high seismicity such as Los Angeles, are higher risk than the background population of buildings around it,” Moehle said.

Last October, a Los Angeles Times article examined some of the buildings that will likely be on the list, and drew attention to the issue of earthquake safety.

Researchers initially rejected releasing the list for fear of legal retaliation from private building owners. City officials also previously rejected two separate proposals to build a list of at-risk buildings for policy planning purposes, according to the Los Angeles Times.

City officials have since requested from researchers a complete list of at-risk buildings with specific addresses, though how they plan to use the list is still unclear, Moehle said.

Eight buildings in Westwood, including one owned by UCLA, could be on the list as they fulfill the criteria set by the researchers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Built in 1971, 924 Westwood Blvd., an office building used by UCLA Health employees, was one of the buildings named by the L.A. Times article. UCLA acquired the building in 2012, but has been using the space since at least 1980, said UCLA spokesman Steve Ritea.

The building underwent retrofitting in 1990, and another renovation project is underway to further upgrade its infrastructure, Ritea said. The renovation, which cost UCLA about $3.2 million, is projected to be completed later this year, Ritea said.

Other building owners are also taking action in light of the increased public attention.

The W Hotel, located on Hilgard Avenue, contracted with a structural engineer last year to assess the building, and will undergo modifications if necessary, said marketing manager Brad Wulff in an email statement.

Park Westwood Tower, a residential building near the W Hotel, has also taken similar steps to assess its building, according to its building manager.

Owners of the Westwood clock tower, Westwood dome building, Vintage Westwood Horizons, Marie Antoinette and Hotel Palomar, all of which were listed as potentially at-risk buildings in the Los Angeles Times article, could not be reached for further comment.

Researchers said not every building on the the list is necessarily dangerous, but rather the list is of buildings that fall under a class of older concrete buildings that may be risky.

Because researchers did not have access to complete data about each specific building, changes to the buildings after they were built were not accounted for, and more detailed assessments might need to be taken to determine the buildings’ risks, Moehle said.

The data collated by Moehle and his team could be used to identify areas in the city that are vulnerable to earthquakes and inform public policy for earthquake response, said Moehle.

On Jan. 14, near the 20th anniversary of the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced that his administration will partner with U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones to develop earthquake resilience strategies for Los Angeles.

Compiled by Emily Liu, Bruin contributor.