The recent tsunami warnings issued along California’s coast following a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula may have seemed excessive — especially when only small waves reached the shore.
But when it comes to California’s seismic readiness, “There is no such thing as an overabundance of caution,” said Kyle Tourjé, executive vice president of Alpha Structural, noting that many California cities remain unprepared for the 99% chance of a magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake striking California within the next 30 years, according to the United States Geological Survey.
“You can’t control when the next quake hits, but you can control how ready you are for it,” Tourjé said.
Recent policy changes could set the state back decades in terms of disaster readiness. In May, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) canceled $30 million to $33 million in retrofit grants intended for California’s high‑risk soft‑story apartment buildings. These buildings, common in Los Angeles and tracked for compliance by the Los Angeles Department of Building Safety (LABDS), have historically caused deadly collapses in events like the 1994 Northridge quake.
San Francisco enacted an ordinance on May 9, 2025, requiring preliminary structural assessments of nearly 4,000 non‑ductile concrete or tilt‑up buildings to be completed within 18 months. This means owners must hire engineers to evaluate seismic risks, which can cost thousands per building. In contrast, Los Angeles passed an ordinance targeting both soft-story and non-ductile concrete buildings, but retrofitting non-ductile concrete structures presents far greater funding challenges because of their size, complexity and high costs. This blend of urgency and caution has experts calling for faster progress — pushing Californians from assessment to implementation and building the partnerships needed to safeguard the city’s buildings.
Tourjé notes that seismic resilience requires action at every level. Local, county, and state governments can prioritize it by creating low-interest loan programs for building owners. Private partners can collaborate with local agencies to apply for multimillion-dollar grants, and some counties and municipalities already offer retrofit and mitigation funding aid. Statewide, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program can help fund seismic retrofitting and landslide mitigation projects.
“Act now,” Tourjé said. “You can’t control when the next quake hits, but you can control how ready you are for it.”
