San Francisco Sun

San Francisco, CA – Today, Mayor London Breed has issued an Executive Directive aimed at enhancing the seismic safety of San Francisco by identifying potential vulnerable concrete buildings and publishing seismic retrofit standards. The directive instructs City Departments to work on legislation to pinpoint concrete buildings that may be at risk during major earthquakes.

"San Francisco is always working to prepare for its next earthquake because for us it’s not a matter of if, but when," emphasized Mayor London Breed.

The Executive Directive, numbered 24-01, tasks the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning (ORCP) and the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) to develop legislation mandating the screening of concrete buildings for vulnerabilities that could lead to structural failure. San Francisco has a 72 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 or greater by 2043, making the initiative crucial for the city's preparedness.

"I want to thank Mayor Breed for her leadership in convening stakeholders focused on concrete buildings and for her immediate actions to move us forward with this Executive Directive," expressed City Administrator Carmen Chu.

The Directive also calls for the development and publication of seismic retrofit standards for concrete buildings in the San Francisco Existing Building Code. San Francisco Department of Building Inspection Director Patrick O’Riordan emphasized the importance of identifying buildings that need improvement to withstand future earthquakes.

"We need to strengthen our downtown and our economy, ensuring that our community and our businesses are resilient to earthquakes now and into the future," stated Rodney Fong, President and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

The Executive Directive is a proactive step towards enhancing seismic resilience in the city and ensuring that owners of concrete buildings have clear guidelines for retrofitting to maximize safety.

"At this critical time for our City and our economy, the Mayor is taking the right step by initiating a screening program to better understand our seismic risk," commented Janan New, Director of the San Francisco Apartment Association.