LOS ANGELES — This week's catastrophic earthquake in Turkey and Syria is just the latest warning of the potential risks for California and other seismically active areas.
Some California cities have retrofitted or demolished problem buildings following quakes in the 1980s and 1990s. But many buildings in the state have not endured the same kind of intense shaking experienced in Turkey and Syria.
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Turkey at 4:17 a.m. local time Monday on the East Anatolian fault. Aftershocks have rippled throughout the southeast part of the country and Syria. A powerful magnitude 7.5 aftershock on a different fault struck nine hours later, with an epicenter 60 miles to the northeast, producing another round of devastation.
