San Francisco, located in the US, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. However, it also faces the threat of an devastating natural disaster.
The city welcomes roughly 20 million international visitors each year and is also the location of many iconic films.
It is also a key economic centre in the US thanks to its status as a tech hub that’s home to some of the most successful companies in history.
But, San Francisco is also located in a “ring of fire” with a staggering 85% of the world’s seismic events found here.
The popular tourist spot therefore has a high likelihood of complete destruction if hit with a deadly earthquake.
However, a new project costing billions hopes to remedy this.
Recent research from a geological survey has predicted worrying data for San Francisco in California.
The region lies on the North American tectonic plate and sits right on the border of the Pacific plate and partially divided by the San Andreas fault line.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the San Francisco bay area has a 95% chance of experiencing a deadly earthquake in the next 100 years.
The USGS also predicted a 72% chance this deadly earthquake could hit San Francisco in the next 30 years, measuring a magnitude of 6.7.
The region is already no stranger to its fair share of disastrous events including a host of tremors and a fair share of devastating earthquakes.
As such, projects are underway in order to better prepare the region and improve seismic safety as part of the San Francisco Earthquake Safety Implementation Program (ESIP).
Popular Youtube channel, B1M, further delved into this colossal task of future proofing San Francisco with a piece of kit that’s used for testing seismic resilience and is known as a shake table.
“It is one of the largest outdoor shake tables in the world and can reproduce the full 3D ground motions that occur during an earthquake,” explained B1M.
“It’s capable of carrying and shaking structures of up to 2,000 metric tonnes which is roughly the weight of eight statues of Liberty”.
In order to put this table to the test, the Tallwood project was created.
It’s the tallest full-scale structure ever built. It was also tested on an earthquake simulator to make certain it is earthquake-proof.
B1M further explained: “Standing nearly 38 metres, it was built from cross-laminated mass timber and is crucial for developing structural advancements in the US.
“It incorporates a rocking wall lateral system which is basically a solid wood panel anchored to the ground with steel cables which contain large tension forces”.
Other plans to help future-proof San Francisco include new mandates for “soft-story buildings” and adding new concrete buildings in a project known as the Concrete Building Safety Program (CBSP).
The CBSP is set to assess and mitigate seismic risk for the City’s concrete building stock and further protect San Francisco from a deadly demise.