You may recall that several months ago, the New Yorker magazine featured an article that talked about the extreme risk in the Cascadia Fault Zone. ( See this July blog posting.)
I have been chatting about this topic with fellow blogger, Eric Holdeman, who lives in the Cascadia Fault Zone. Here is his recent take on the topi: Unreinforced Masonry Buildings Are a Death Trap.
For those looking for a model, the state of California has been dealing with retrofit of existing buildings for several decades. It can be done and it is being done!