SF is strengthening its buildings for the next big quake, but hundreds are overdue for the work

Following April revelations that an unknown number of residences could suffer dangerous gas leaks after an earthquake due to poorly executed seismic retrofits, city officials on Wednesday said that a subsequent review shows few buildings are likely at risk. These represent just a handful of the 5,000 soft-story buildings — ones with ground floors that are vulnerable to collapse in a quake — that the city has required to be strengthened. Meanwhile, retrofit work is overdue at more than 700 soft-story buildings, potentially endangering thousands of residents in the event of a major quake.

Civic · Liana Wilcox, Noah Arroyo, Laura Wenus