Los Angeles to Adopt Toughest Building Codes in U.S.
The city of Los Angeles has enacted aggressive seismic regulations, requiring 15,000 buildings be retrofitted so they will better withstand an earthquake.
The regulations will require property owners to strengthen two types of buildings that pose the most serious potential for loss of life in a big quake: Brittle concrete buildings and the boxy wood-frame apartment complexes built on top of carports. More than 65 people died when these types of buildings collapsed during quakes in 1971 and 1994, reported the LA Times.