Building damage and economic losses resulting from a relatively modest (M6.0) earthquake on the American Canyon fault have been estimated to be as high as $4 billion by some sources. Time will tell what the actual economic impact was to the community and business. Napa Valley's wine industry has been particularly hard hit, with damage to buildings and inventory. Damage to other industries is still substantial as well.
I am currently in the affected Napa region as part of a multi-disciplinary research team deployed to study the effects of the earthquake earthquake, including building performance, contents damage, roads, bridges, lifelines, geotechnical issues and the impact on the community. The team evaluates and reports on the findings through publications. The findings from post-earthquake reconnaissance often generate changes to Code design provisions, which could improve the performance of similar buildings to reduce damages in the next seismic event.
Shaking Up Risk Management
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