Disney is Serious about Earthquake Safety. Are You?

BY ALI SAHABI

It may be the Happiest Place on Earth — but like any other Orange County community, Disneyland sees its fair share of earthquakes.

The 7.1 magnitude Ridgecrest earthquake on July 4, 2019, prompted the theme park to temporarily shut down rides to conduct safety inspections. Video of park visitors experiencing the ground movement of the earthquake 160 miles away showed them taking it in stride — chuckling even — as one munched on macaroons, sporting a pair of iridescent Little Mermaid mouse ears.

Earthquakes are no laughing matter for Disney. The company knows the risks Orange County faces, and it confronts them head-on.

“From the earliest days of park planning, Walt Disney and his team recognized that they were building a theme park near a fault line,” according to David Mumpower of the Mickey Blog, “Disney resorts are the safest place to be in an emergency.”

It makes sense. The happiest place should also be one of the safest. Clearly, the Disney team took earthquake risk into account when they planned and constructed the theme park. So why do so many of us not take the same precautions when it comes to our homes, businesses, and apartment buildings —which are so vital to our quality of life and well-being?

Apartment owners should get informed to make educated decisions about the security of their livelihood, the safety of their tenants and buildings, and the risks that earthquakes pose to them. Here’s what should be considered:

• Risks: How vulnerable is your building to damage from an earthquake? The age and type of structure is one factor, along with

the type of soil beneath it. • Liabilities: Tenants or their families can sue if they are injured or killed in a quake, even if your apartment building is in compliance with local ordinances. • Loss of income: If your building were damaged, would you be able to keep up with payments if the damage caused a significant loss of income?

• Cost of a retrofit: Get multiple estimates so you know what’s reasonable, but look for a fixed price, the best value and not just the lowest initial cost. Make sure you know what is covered and what isn’t.

• Financial incentives: Check with your jurisdiction to learn more about

loan programs, fee reductions and rent increases to help pay for some of the costs. Long-term, incentives have the potential of doubling a retrofit project’s ROI, making it a very wise business choice.

Researchers at Caltech have determined that for every dollar spent in retrofitting soft-story structures, property owners could expect to save up to seven dollars, and that study didn’t factor in loss to contents, alternate living expenses or deaths and injuries — all of which would have significantly increased the cost-to-benefit ratios. The Federal Emergency Management Agency found similar cost benefits in a two-year analysis of seismic retrofit scenarios in California.

“The benefit/cost analysis suggests that a retrofit is strongly justified economically, even without including the value of life,” FEMA determined.

The National Institute of Building Sciences determined that for every $1 invested in earthquake retrofits of apartment buildings, $13 would be saved.

Above all, do your research. Don’t rush into any decisions. And talk to other apartment owners who have retrofitted their property. The more knowledge you gain about the subject, the smarter your decision will be. You can start by finding out whether your apartment building is at risk, with a complimentary consultation. Visit optimumseismic.com for more information, or call us at 323-978-7664.

About the Author: Ali Sahabi, a licensed General Engineering Contractor (GEC), is an expert in seismic resilience and sustainability. He is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Optimum Seismic, Inc., which has completed more than 3,500 seismic retrofit, renovation and adaptive reuse projects for multifamily residential, commercial, and industrial buildings throughout California. Optimum Seismic also performs apartment building balcony inspection and repairs required by California’s new Balcony Law.

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istic expectations and present realistic solutions. Thinking that your housing needs are going to be met with granny flats above detached garages or in back yards is as unhelpful as saying, “we’re built out; build it somewhere else.”

While the opportunities that SB 9 and SB 10 provide are tools to expand housing, we need a variety of tools to meet the housing needs of all Californians, and we need to support a cooperative effort in addressing those needs, rather than denying every proposal because it isn’t perfect.

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