AB 2681(Nazarian) Legislation To Be Presented At BizFed Seismic Resiliency Seminar March 19

LOS ANGELES, March 16, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- How are California cities leading the way to prepare their communities for "The Big One?"

BizFed (The Los Angeles County Business Federation) has teamed up with Optimum Seismic Inc. to educate local government officials about the issues facing their cities in case of catastrophic destruction from an earthquake. This seminar will feature public officials and building experts identifying the impending risk of a major earthquake hitting the Los Angeles area, as well as the benefits of retrofitting buildings that are vulnerable to collapse during seismic activity.

Southern California is overdue for another major quake, the last one being the Northridge earthquake of 1994 which incurred $67 billion in damage and the loss of 57 lives. In the wake of that quake, local cities sustained substantial damages and insurance premiums soared.

The luncheon keynote speaker, Mike Gardner, Chairman of the Seismic Safety Commission, will present updates from the Commission on work being done in Sacramento on state-wide preparedness efforts.

Other Speakers Include:

• David Clark, Unit Manager, responsible for seismic resiliency of the Metropolitan Water District will discuss how the MWD is working to keep buildings safe and the importance of critical services such as water and power during the event of an earthquake
• Brian Stedge, District Director for Assemblyman Nazarian, will present on new legislation AB 2681
• Evan Reis, Executive Director of the United States Resiliency Council will speak on a national perspective of seismic resiliency.
• David Khorram, Chief Building Official of Long Beach, will present how Long Beach is learning from the past.
• Ali Vahdani, CEO, an early pioneer in seismic retrofitting and president of Optimum Seismic, will discuss retrofit solutions that can be implemented for the primary types of vulnerable buildings, detailed descriptions of vulnerable buildings, and appropriate retrofit techniques.

"The identification of these buildings is an important step in ascertaining the extent to which our cities are threatened," Nazarian said. "We have to identify our weaknesses in order to make our communities stronger."

"We've seen how Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston and how their economy is still recovering," said BizFed Founding CEO Tracy Hernandez. "We know that a major earthquake will strike Southern California in the not too distant future so our elected officials best not avoid investing solutions today."

Optimum Seismic, CEO, Ali Vahdani said the resiliency of L.A. communities is one of the region's most pressing issues.

"Seismologists are predicting that the 'Big One' is long overdue," he said. "We need to educate ourselves about the risks we face in order to prepare. The time to take action is now."

• What: Seismic Retrofit Seminar for Government Leaders
• When: 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 19 (Lunch will be served.)
• Where: Metropolitan Water District, 700 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles
• Reservations Required: Please call 323-OPTIMUM to RSVP or go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/optimum-seismic-and-bizfed-seismic-resiliency-seminar-tickets-42887959040

About BizFed Los Angeles
With more than 175 business organizations representing 390,000 employers with 3.5 million employees throughout L.A. County, BizFed is a massive, diverse grassroots alliance that advocates for policies and projects that strengthen the regional economy. Leveraging power in numbers, BizFed explores all sides of critical issues and takes action to make a difference for business growth, job creation, and economic vitality in Southern California.

About Assemblyman Nazarian
Adrin Nazarian was elected in November 2012 to represent California's 46th Assembly District, which includes the Hollywood Hills, Lake Balboa, North Hills, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Toluca Lake, Valley Glen, Universal City, Van Nuys, and Valley Village.

SOURCE BizFed Los Angeles