Earthquake safety

Weak points in older houses

• Unbolted sill plates: the wood sill isn’t anchored to the foundation, so the house can slide off.
• Unbraced cripple walls: short wood walls between the foundation and the first floor can collapse sideways.
• Unreinforced masonry chimneys: often break at the roofline.
• Rooms over garages with large door openings and little bracing.
• Hillside homes on stilts or steep foundations.
• Soft-story apartment buildings with tuck-under parking.

What inspectors check

1. Water heater straps: two, in the upper and lower thirds of the tank.
2. Visible anchor bolts along the sill plate in the crawlspace.
3. Plywood bracing on cripple walls.
4. Chimney cracks and offsets.
5. Flexible gas connectors at appliances.
6. Tall furniture and shelves secured, when visible.

Disclosures

• Natural Hazard Disclosure: states whether the property lies in an earthquake fault zone or seismic hazard zone.
• Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety: for sales of homes built before 1960, sellers or their agents provide this booklet, and disclose known structural weaknesses such as missing bolting or bracing.
• Commercial Property Owner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety: for certain commercial buildings.

Retrofit help

The California Earthquake Authority’s Earthquake Brace + Bolt program offers grants toward retrofits of eligible older houses on raised foundations in designated ZIP codes. Registration windows open periodically.

Simple steps for any home

• Strap the water heater and secure tall furniture.
• Know how to shut off gas and water.
• Keep shoes and a flashlight by the bed.
• Consider earthquake insurance, which standard homeowners policies don’t include.