Business and Government Join Forces for Earthquake Resiliency

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As Californians take part in today's Great Shakeout earthquake drills to be better prepared for disaster, a growing coalition of business and government leaders are taking a stand to promote the kind of action that will not only save lives but possibly help avert disaster all together.

A new partnership formed between the Los Angeles Business Federation, Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, Southern California Association of Governments, United States Resiliency Council, and Optimum Seismic, Inc., will promote social and economic resilience through education — starting with businesses and local business associations.

The partnership was announced last week at a press conference held at the Southern California Association of Governments headquarters, along with the release of a new whitepaper, Economic Benefits of Earthquake-Resistant Buildings by Evan Reis, co-founder of the USRC ; and Ali Sahabi, COO of Optimum Seismic.

"In Southern California, our No. 1 sustainability issue is seismic resiliency," said Sahabi. "You can't be sustainable if you're not seismic resilient."

Speakers at the conference spoke out about the threat of a major earthquake and the potential devastation to the social and economic fabric of the region.

"There is a very real possibility this earthquake will occur and could permanently cripple some of our regional infrastructure and as a result impact our regional economy," said Kome Ajise, executive director of SCAG. "Resilience is key to maintaining our edge as a region... We know for a fact that more earthquakes will come to California, but the disaster that happens does not have to."

Stephen Cheung, executive vice president of the LAEDC, agreed.

"L.A. is one of the major trading posts in the U.S.," Cheung said. "Whatever happens here in Los Angeles will affect not only Los Angeles but the rest of the United States."

Other speakers at the press conference included Tracy Hernandez, CEO of BizFed Los Angeles; Hector Baretto, chairman of the Latino Corporation and a former administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association; and Reis.

Under the new partnership, these entities will work together to promote resilience through education, with ongoing presentations and monthly webinars that draw from fact to advocate for resilience. This effort will focus primarily on business: the driving force of a society.

"I am really honored on behalf of Optimum Seismic to be part of this effort that intends to change the culture of our business community to make earthquake resiliency a part of our business planning efforts — not just an afterthought," Sahabi said.

Ongoing educational free seminars sponsored by BizFed, LAEDC, Optimum Seismic, and SCAG are continuing throughout LA County during the next few weeks with more educational support planned throughout 2020.

Press conference video links:

Evan Reis, Executive Director, US Resiliency Council, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d5ZmQ_jgn4

Ali Sahabi, Principal, Optimum Seismic, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYwzEWTQ728

Kome Ajise, Executive Director, SCAG, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq6UHSdp6CI

Stephen Cheung, Executive Vice President, LAEDC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKfml3u--Dc

Tracy Hernandez, Founding CEO, BizFed, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQEHmFTNZGQ

Hector V. Barreto, Chairman, The Latino Coalition,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ST0s2B26EU

ABOUT OPTIMUM SEISMIC
Optimum Seismic, Inc., is the L.A. area's leading retrofit company and AAGLA's Preferred Supplier for earthquake retrofit engineering and construction. The company has more than 30 years of experience and has completed more than 1,900 retrofits throughout the state of California. For information, visit www.optimumseismic.com.

Contact:
Emanuela Cariolagian
(323)644-2111
[email protected]

Andrea Aguilar, Optimum Seismic, Inc.
(323)605-0312
aaguilar@optimumseismic.com

Tom Robinson, Optimum Seismic, Inc.
(323)739-1182
[email protected]

SOURCE Optimum Seismic, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.optimumseismic.com