A SPECIAL REPORT: EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING

CHEAP INSURANCE: In a quake, the crawl space under an older home is its Achilles heel, but a UC Irvine study shows how to solve the problem cheaply. . . . Robin Shepherd, professor of civil engineering, says in a quake, the short, exterior “cripple walls” between foundation and floor often collapse, moving the house off its foundation. . . . His study shows the “best and cheapest solution by far” is nailing 3/4-inch plywood panels to the inside of cripple walls. “It makes them as strong as the rest of the building, and they’ll very likely survive most earthquakes.”