Seismic vulnerabilityNot all Oakland buildings are equally seismically vulnerable

Published 12 September 2014

A mobile app which allows Oakland resident to check on whether their buildings are seismically vulnerable reveals that there is a vast inequality between safe and vulnerable homes in the city, as residents living in less-affluent, older multi-unit buildings would suffer the most in a major quake. Oakland is home to hundreds of those vulnerable buildings that may collapse in a major earthquake, and there is no law mandating property owners to retrofit buildings to safer standards.

Software developer Dave Guarino has developed a Web and mobile app to help Oakland residents check on whether their buildings are seismically vulnerable. Using data from the city and a 2013 analysis by the Association of Bay Area Governments, the app, named SoftStory (the term used to label buildings built on slopes or atop hollow structures like parking garages), was developed with OpenOakland, a volunteer civic technology group. “I read about these problems that stem from seismic vulnerability, and then I realized, I was probably living in one of these buildings,” Guarino said.

Emergency Management reports that after spending two months to gather building data from city officials, Guarino discovered the vast inequality between safe and vulnerable homes in Oakland. Residents living in less-affluent, older multi-unit buildings would suffer the most in a major quake. “In a major earthquake, if a lot of these buildings are not retrofitted and fall down, you’re going to have a really significant displacement and it will disproportionately affect folks who are lower income,” Guarino said. Moreover, current development trends and research show that the displacement would be long-term for many Oakland residents who live in the city’s affordable housing complexes. Buildings that fall in a major quake are likely to be rebuilt for higher rent apartments, leaving fewer living space for the displaced. “Basically, that means a permanent displacement of a lot of people,” he said.

Oakland is home to hundreds of those vulnerable buildings that may collapse in a major earthquake, and there is no law mandating property owners to retrofit buildings to safer standards. City officials have said they expect an ordinance to pass before year’s end but even with legislation, most building owners will be unable to afford retrofitting, and some tenants are unlikely to agree to absorb the cost of retrofitting. Guarino points out that many of the potentially soft story buildings highlighted in his app have yet to finish inspection with the city’s structural engineers, who must designate applicable structures as “soft story.”

For now, Guarino recommends residents in vulnerable buildings to invest in earthquake insurance. He also believes that the recent magnitude-6.0 Napa earthquake will advance public dialogue on the issue.