Should Every Home Be Built to Withstand an Earthquake?

On Nov. 6, Oklahoma experienced its biggest earthquake ever: a magnitude 5.6 temblor centered near the small town of Sparks. Fortunately, the damage was minimal — only 14 buildings and a few roads will need minor repairs — but the event, as well as the earthquake that surprised the East Coast in August, was another reminder that sizable quakes can strike many parts of the United States, not just the Pacific Coast.

In California, regulations require that buildings be constructed to withstand significant ground motion. In light of the recent quakes, should the rest of the country abide by similar guidelines?

According to Tim Reinhold, senior vice president for research and chief engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, the United States already has a suggested building code that makes provisions for all types of natural disasters. The code details the construction standards needed to prevent building collapse during earthquakes of various severity, and it recommends which standards be adopted in each region based on what size earthquake that region can expect in the next 500 years.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

The national model code recommends stringent designs for structures in California, Alaska, Hawaii and the New Madrid Seismic Zone centered in Missouri, but calls for only "minimal changes from conventional construction" in regions such as Oklahoma that experience minor earthquakes, Reinhold said. [ What's the Largest Earthquake that Could Strike the United States? ]

States' rights dominate when it comes to these seismic safety regulations. "It's up to the states to see if they want to actually adopt the national model codes," Reinhold told Life's Little Mysteries. "Some states don't adopt a statewide building code but instead they leave it up to counties to decide."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

The county governments are also responsible for enforcing these codes, and the fees for building permits pay local building inspectors' salaries.

The traditionally more-conservative states tend to shy away from regulation, Reinhold said. "Missouri, for example, has a state law that prohibits a statewide building code. If you go to Houston, Texas, they've got an earthquake building code, but you don't have to follow it if you don't want insurance. So the regulation is much weaker and not uniform across the state at all."

Reinhold's trade group, which is based in Tampa, Fla., recommends that states adopt building codes. "We push very hard for statewide building codes because it develops more uniformity across the state and provides a better level of protections to all citizens," Reinhold said. "There are real advantages to people in the state, and also to manufacturers and builders, because they don't see one standard here and another there."

• Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters in History
• Could the 'Big One' Hit DC or NY?
• Can NextEarthquake.com Really Forecast Earthquakes?

Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @ nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @ llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.