Engineering And Planning Matter

"Many of the most severely damaged homes were built before 1963, when the Uniform Building Code began to undergo changes aimed at protecting hillside homes from landslides. Many were in areas with a known history of slides.

...Landslides are a natural part of Southern California's landscape. At early stages of the area's development, few builders thought much about geology. Homes were plopped onto the hills, often barely anchored into land that sat above ancient slides. In some cases, the land was still moving — so slowly that homeowners didn't realize it.

Because of that reality, Los Angeles' building codes have evolved over the last 50 years into some of the most stringent on the planet. Each storm, each earthquake, each mudslide imparts new lessons to city planners and building officials, geologists say."

Thanks to Laura Kranz