• FACT: Since 1989 earthquakes, wildfires, landslides and floods have caused damage and destruction, including uninsured losses, totaling in excess of $41 billion. Some 180,882 structures have been damaged or destroyed.

• FACT: The Hayward fault lies beneath Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, Fremont, San Jose and other Northern Californian Cities of equal density in terms of structures.

• FACT: More than 50 faults have been mapped within Los Angeles County alone. The likelihood of one or more of these faults having the destructive power of the Northridge earthquake, which did an estimated $25 to $27 billion in damage, is unknown.

• FACT: In 1997, heavy rains and melting snow caused more than a score of levees in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river valleys to fail, resulting in widespread flooding causing damage estimated at $1.8 billion.

California is a geologically active region. With property losses mounting as a result of earthquakes, floods and wildfires, a plethora of laws and local ordinances have passed - similar terms and conditions were written into contractual agreements - requiring the seller, or agent for the seller, to disclose certain other concerns of equal magnitude.

As such, under Federal, State of California and local law, as applicable, a seller of real property is required to provide the buyer with reports disclosing the degree to which, if any, certain naturally caused hazards might affect the desirability and value of the property. This provision applies even if the property is listed "As Is". Failure to disclose can subject the seller, or agent for the seller, to legal action.

• FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area
• Areas of Potential Flooding (Dam Inundation)
• Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones
• Wildland Fire Areas (State Responsibility Areas)
• Earthquake Fault Zone
• Seismic Hazard Zone

• Zones of flooding determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• Special flood hazard area is any flood zone that begins with "A" or "V".
• Current FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM's) must be used for flood zone determination.
• Zone "A" is the area within the 100-year flood plain - means there is a 1% chance of flooding in any given year - NOT flooding once every 100 years.
• Typical property in a flood zone - has a 26% chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage.
• Zone "V" are areas along coastlines where flooding may occur due to high
  velocity wave action.

INUNDATION HAZARD

Sudden dam breakage or failure would inundate areas downstream of dams, resulting in the possibility of personal injury and property damage. Properties within a mapped Area of Potential Flooding due to dam failure must be disclosed to a potential buyer. Section 8589.5 of the Government Code.

Details of Area of Potential Flooding (Dam Inundation):

• Areas subject to inundation as the result of Dam failure, Tsunami, and Seiche.
  • Dam Failure: Inundation of areas downstream of dams due to dam breakage or failure. Limits of inundation depend on sudden dam breakage and reservoir capacity.
  • Tsunami: Large sea waves caused by vertical movements of the sea floor that may
    accompany certain types of earthquakes.
  • Seiche: Inundation caused by seismically related back and forth wave action in enclosed or partially enclosed bodies of water such as lakes, harbors and channels.
    
• Only maps reviewed and approved by the State may be used for this disclosure.
• State owned dams are required to have an inundation map - it is the responsibility of the local government or other owner of a dam to provide the State with an inundation map of the area.

VERY HIGH FIRE HAZARD SEVERITY ZONE

A Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone is identified on consistent statewide criteria and based on the severity of fire hazard that is expected to prevail in those areas. Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones shall be based on fuel loading, slope, fire weather and other relevant factors. (Government Code §51178.)

Details of Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones:

• Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones designated and required to be mapped after the Oakland Hills Fire in October 1991.
• Properties within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone are subject to special maintenance requirements which can include maintaining fire breaks, clearing vegetation, and keeping roofs free of debris.
• The California Department of Forestry and local fire authorities locate and compile maps
  of areas that meet the above criteria.

STATE FIRE RESPONSIBILITY AREA

In the State of California Fire Responsibility Areas (SRA) the primary financial responsibility for the prevention and suppression of wildland fires lies with the State rather than the local or federal governments. Within these areas, property owners may be required to assume additional duties, such as firebreak maintenance or brush clearance. In addition, the State may not necessarily provide fire protection in all SRA areas. Public Resources Code §4215.

Details of Wildland Fire Area (State Responsibility Areas):

• A State Fire Responsibility Area is defined as "lands exclusive of federal lands regardless of ownership, classified by the State Board of Forestry as areas in which the primary financial responsibility for preventing and suppressing wildland fires is that of the State." Structure fires fall under the protection of a local fire jurisdiction.
• These are lands covered wholly or in part by timber, brush, undergrowth or grass, whether of commercial value or not, which protect the soil from erosion, retard runoff of water or accelerated percolation, and lands used principally for range or forage purposes."
• These are generally wildland areas and may require state-imposed additional duties, such as maintaining fire breaks.

EARTHQUAKE FAULT ZONE

In California, active earthquake fault traces are mapped as part of the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zones Act of 1991. Alquist-Priolo maps depict zones on either side of known or suspected active fault traces in which fault rupture and/or severe ground shaking can be expected in the event of an earthquake on the mapped fault. Public resources Code §2622.

Details of Earthquake Fault Zone Disclosure:

• Alquist-Priolo Act requires that all real estate transactions within an Earthquake Fault Zone must be disclosed by the seller to prospective buyers.
• Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone - zones which encompass surface traces of active faults that have a potential for surface fault rupture.
• An active fault is one that has moved in the last 11,000 years.
• A fault trace is the line on the earth's surface defining the fault.
• The California State Geologist (part of Division of Mines and Geology) maps the Earthquake Fault Zones.
• Notices must be posted at city and county offices that advise the public of the availability and location of Earthquake Fault Zone maps affecting that county.
• Maps can be viewed at Department of Conservation, Division of Mines and Geology - info can also be found on their website - www.consrv.ca.gov

SEISMIC HAZARD ZONE

A Seismic Hazard Zone (SHZ) is an area in which an earthquake may 1) trigger a landslide, mudslide, or debris flow, or 2) temporarily transform loose, sandy soils from a stable condition to a liquid state (i.e. liquefy). Consequently, these soils lose strength and can cause the foundation of a structure to shift, sink, or otherwise fail. Public Resources Code §2696.

Details of the Seismic Hazard Zone Disclosure:

• Zones that include areas prone to liquefaction and earthquake-induced landslides
  • Liquefaction: Process of soils changing from a solid to a liquid state, rendering them unable to support structures. The degree of liquefaction varies according to soil composition, degree of saturation and the severity of ground shaking. Settlement may occur in natural sediments or in artificially filled areas.
  • Landslide: May be caused by earthquakes, the natural or artificial saturation of slopes, or human development such as roadcuts, grading, construction, removal of vegetation and changes in drainage.
• The California State Geologist (part of Division of Mines and Geology) maps the Seismic Hazard Zones.
• Funding for mapping program increased after Northridge Earthquake - mapping focus also put on Southern California.
• To date, only small portions of Northern California (including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties) have been mapped, approved and released for use. Large portions of Southern California (including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties) have been mapped, approved and released for use. Budget constraints will determine how quickly other areas are re-mapped and approved for release.
• Notices must be posted by cities and counties regarding the Seismic Hazard Maps affecting that county.
• Only maps created and approved by the State Geologist may be used for the Natural Hazard Disclosure - maps created by cities and counties may be out of date, so the State Geologist must map the entire state and approve the release and use of Seismic maps.