When an earthquake shakes a house side-to-side and up-and-down, a house can move off its foundation if it is not anchored. The results of this slippage can range from fire due to broken gas lines to damage to a home’s foundation, floors, walls, and windows.

You can hire a home inspector to check your foundation to be sure it is anchored, or you can look in the crawl space under your home to check for anchor bolts fastening the sill plate (the wooden board sitting directly on the foundation) to the foundation itself. If your home is not anchored, or if you own a home with an unreinforced masonry foundation, pier-and-post foundation, or a home on tall walls or posts, you need to make changes to prepare for an earthquake.

Other concerns to investigate are weak cripple walls, no foundation, unreinforced masonry walls, rooms over garages, unreinforced chimneys, unbraced water heaters, natural gas safety, old concrete foundations, porches, overhangs, large windows, irregular walls, and homes that are over two stories.

For specific refit information about any of these issues, please see: Make Your Home Safe