By City News Service
Feb 9, 2021
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A San Fernando Valley assemblyman plans today to introduce a bill to strengthen California s building codes, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Sylmar earthquake.
The Seismic Functional Recovery Act calls for the state s building codes to include standards to provide for timely recovery of housing and other community services following an earthquake.
“California deserves buildings that can be reoccupied and provide basic services in a timely manner after the big one hits, with limited loss of life and property, said Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-Van Nuys, the bill s author.
“By proactively protecting our infrastructure we will save lives, protect property, provide basic services and maintain jobs after an earthquake, and actually save money in the long run.
It was a Tuesday exactly half a century ago, just after 6 a.m., and most of Los Angeles was dozing. The wake-up call lasted 12 seconds, registered 6.6 on the Richter scale, buckled buildings and killed 64 people.
Those who recall what is known as the Sylmar or San Fernando earthquake of 1971 describe the experience as if the ground is still shaking, with specific markers seared into their memories.
“Lots of broken glass in the kitchen, and the five-gallon Sparkletts bottle exploded on impact,” says Howard Cohen, who was 8 at the time and living in Lakeview Terrace. He recalls his bed moving during the initial quake and the aftershocks in the bedroom he shared with his grandmother.
A San Fernando Valley assemblyman plans today to introduce a bill to strengthen California's building codes, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Sylmar earthquake.