Mayor Garcetti Updates Chamber On Earthquake Resilience Plan

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  — Mayor Eric Garcetti Tuesday shared his plan with the Chamber of Commerce to make the city the epicenter of preparedness when an earthquake strikes.

The Resilience By Design plan will fortify thousands of older buildings, ensure the safety of critical water supplies and improve telecommunications systems.

According to the mayor, Los Angeles is the third most at-risk city in the world when it comes to seismic activity.

Approximately 1,500 older concrete buildings top the list of concerns, according to Garcetti. Owners of those structures will be given 30 years to retrofit.

"Business, in financial terms, stands to lose the most. When businesses shut down, if we don't have a resilient plan to respond, businesses may never recover," Garcetti said.

"We're making sure were part of the solution and not part of the problem on that and I think it's important for the whole community to support this effort going forward. Again, we're on borrowed time," business owner Tim Buresh said.

The mayor hopes that by the end of 2015, the City Council will have passed the ordinances required for his plan.