San Francisco Real Estate - Residential

Earthquakes and landslides make people nervous in San Francisco

A reader asks:

Is the Marina safe to live in? I have heard a number of stories about the "liquefaction" in this area -- and wanted to know if this is a safe area of the city.

Our reply:

Parts of the Marina are built on Land fill which is subject to liquefaction in case of an earthquake. During the 1989 earthquake many properties in the Marina suffered significant damage and some buildings even collapsed as a result of the earthquake.

I have heard engineers tell clients that one of most important factors that will determine the extent of damage from an earthquake is the ground that a building is built upon. So if your property is built on rock it is less likely to sustain as much damage as a property built on sand, bay mud or landfill. But after the earthquake many buildings in the Marina were retrofitted with shear walls, foundation bolting and increased supports so that they are stonger and more able to withstand the shaking of an earthquake. New buildings were built with piers anchored on bedrock. This will hopefully reduce the risk of serious damage during an earthquake. However, we will not know how well the retrofitting works until we have another earthquake.

There is also risk of landslides for properties built on hills, so there are very few areas that are "risk free". I would advise anyone considering purchasing property in the Marina to talk to an engineer and have the property inspected by an engineer to determine the structural integrity of the home and what the professional's opinion is about the area. It is also important to ask yourself how much risk you are willing to take on your home or investment property. People differ greatly in their willingness to gamble on the future. The best bet may be to have great insurance!

- Janis Stone

Also see our previous article:

San Francisco Real Estate and Landfill

posted by SFResidence.com @ 2:33 AM