The Los Angeles Times reported that city housing officials have provided addresses to 29,000 apartment buildings in Los Angeles built before 1978 to city inspectors. City inspectors will have to access which are soft-story and vulnerable to collapse in the event of a major earthquake. This will most likely require building officials to visit to all 29,000 buildings.

During the 1994 Northridge earthquake 16 people were killed in the Northridge Meadows apartment complex and 200 of these soft-story structures were seriously damaged or completely destroyed. In an effort to limit future potential hazards Los Angeles is taking action.

City Councilman Tom LaBonge has passed a bold earthquake safety ordinance which requires 3,000 wooden apartment buildings to be strengthened. Tom La Bonge has also requested officials to propose ways for the city to identify these residential wood-frame soft-story buildings built prior to 1978 and containing two to five units.

You can access the Los Angeles Times article here.