New earthquake rating system released by the U.S. Resiliency Council

The U.S. Resiliency Council (USRC) has unveiled the USRC Earthquake Building Rating System.

This first-of-its-kind performance rating is based on decades of earthquake engineering research and observations of earthquake damage, the USRC says. The system assigns one to five stars for three performance measures — Safety, Damage (repair cost), and Recovery (time to regain basic function).

"Users will receive reliable and consistent information about a building's expected performance during an earthquake and be able to use that information for purchasing or leasing decisions,” according to Ron Mayes, Acting Executive Director of USRC. “The USRC rating system allows an owner to specify the desired level of performance rather than accept by default the life safety performance of a building designed to the minimum level prescribed by the building code. We intend to expand our resiliency ratings to include other natural hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods in the near future."

There are two types of ratings. A USRC Verified Rating is used by building owners for promotional, marketing, and publicity purposes. A USRC Transaction Rating is used for transactional due diligence that accommodates both the schedule and cost demands of the leasing, sales, finance, and insurance markets for commercial real estate. More information on the Council and its rating system is available here.

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