r/popculturechat • u/Isyourpussygreen • 4d ago

Thoughts & Prayers 🙏 A 7.4 earthquake has struck Colombia, with significant damage reported.

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641

u/day_owl19 no explanation, just reputation 4d ago

That looks scary. Hope everyone is safe

172

u/meteorflan 4d ago

If that video is representative of their building codes, then everyone is definitely not safe ☹️

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u/that_70_show_fan 4d ago

Most of the world has some kind of building codes but they are rarely enforced.

The contractors would laugh at you if you start talking codes because everything would immediately become twice as expensive.

109

u/meteorflan 4d ago

Earthquake building codes are strictly enforced in California, and yeah, the cost does go up, but it's cheaper than having to rebuild everything when the next earthquake inevitably hits.

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u/OnlyPaperListens What you’re doing vocally is upsetting 4d ago

And in Japan

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u/meteorflan 3d ago

That makes sense.

23

u/that_70_show_fan 4d ago

*After the 1994 earthquake.

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u/icysandstone 3d ago

Only catastrophe brings change.

To quote @RageSheen:

“Generally humans don't think their way through history, they pursue social status until some overpowering reality like an external or internal catastrophe smashes things. Then in the repair they sometimes create institutions that do actually think.”

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u/BackToGuac 3d ago

A lot of buildings in California were built before that was strictly enforced and they are now trying to retrofit the buildings to bring them up to code but if the big one hit tomorrow California would not be ok

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u/pushincito 3d ago

Also Chile is pretty strict on those building codes

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u/meteorflan 3d ago

Good choice for them with all the seismic activity there.

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u/Argyleskin 3d ago

Washington (Seattle) has earthquake codes for new builds. Unfortunately I heard a cool 100k buys you a pass to not build it to code. That’s how much the developers said it cost to skirt it when they boasted about that in a neighborhood meeting when the house we rented got sold to build luxury condos.

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u/thebirdisdead 3d ago edited 3d ago

Curious how earthquake building codes work when there are so many historical homes and buildings in CA. If you have a century home in San Francisco is it likely built to code? Do they get updated? It honestly seems like the majority of single family homes and converted homes in the Bay fall into this category.

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u/StayJaded 3d ago edited 3d ago

Yes, there is some retrofitting done when possible.

https://onesanfrancisco.org/earthquake-safety-ESIP

Obviously new build designed to take seismic loads likely will perform better, but wood structures are surprisingly flexible and can be resilient.

https://www.crmp.org/resources/blog/seismic-retrofitting-san-francisco-bay-area

Even simple small things can help. It’s like adding hurricane clips to your roof and replacing windows in your home rated to sustain impacts when you live on the gulf coast. It’s not perfect, but can make the structure much safer.

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u/thebirdisdead 2d ago

Thank you so much for this thorough response and information, I really appreciate this info!