How Will the Bay Area and New Delhi Handle the 'Big One'?

[hammertime]

As a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, the recent quake got me thinking - how prepared are the buildings and structures in the Bay Area for the upcoming 'Big One'? I mean, are the majority of buildings, bridges, and tunnels capable of handling a magnitude 7 or 8 quake?

Also, what about New Delhi, India? Is it in a very quake-prone area? If so, are many of the buildings ready for the types of quakes that come their way?

Thanks.

 

[jim mcnamara]

My knowledge is very limited. But. There are a lot of older SF buildings that were not built with any understanding of earthquake resistance. So the answer is "No, SF has a long way to go, except for new construction". Here is Earthquake 101 from your friendly local government:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/#info

There are a lot of risk scenarios associated with quakes, all based on local geology.
For example SF is not at much risk for solifluction - where buildings sink into saturated ground, like they were built on quicksand. So, I can't answer at all about New Dehli.

 

[TVP45]

My knowledge is very limited. But. There are a lot of older SF buildings that were not built with any understanding of earthquake resistance. So the answer is "No, SF has a long way to go, except for new construction". Here is Earthquake 101 from your friendly local government:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/#info

There are a lot of risk scenarios associated with quakes, all based on local geology.
For example SF is not at much risk for solifluction - where buildings sink into saturated ground, like they were built on quicksand. So, I can't answer at all about New Dehli.

A small part of San Francisco is built on fill. I've forgotten the name of the neighborhood most affected, but that is at risk for liquification.

Over in Oakland, there is (was?) an office dedicated to preparing. They had displays etc. There's been a lot of retrofitting since the 1989 quake, but older buildings are a problem, particularly if there's any history.