The Santa Susana and Simi faults run close to Simi Valley, and most earthquake damage in a home comes from a short list of preventable causes — an unsecured water heater, top-heavy furniture that tips, and items that fall off shelves. None of the fixes below are expensive or complicated, and one of them is actually required by California law.
Water Heater Strapping — This One Isn't Optional
Under California Health and Safety Code 19211, every residential water heater — new, replacement, or already installed — must be braced, anchored, or strapped to resist falling or shifting during an earthquake. This isn't a suggestion; it's been state law since 1991, and if you ever sell your home, you're legally required to certify in writing that your water heater complies.
The current standard is a two-strap method — one strap in the upper third of the tank, one in the lower third, anchored into wall framing (not just drywall). This standard exists because of real failures: after the 1989 Loma Prieta and 1994 Northridge earthquakes, investigators found that older single-strap and thin plumber's-tape setups frequently failed, letting water heaters tip, shear gas lines, and cause flooding or fire risk. If your straps look old, thin, or like they were installed with basic hardware-store plumber's tape rather than a proper seismic strapping kit, it's worth having them checked.
Is My Water Heater Strapping Actually Up to Code?
If you're not sure when your straps were last installed or inspected, a quick way to check is a gentle push on the tank — if it wiggles or shifts, the strapping likely needs to be tightened or replaced. This is a quick, inexpensive fix, and one of the highest-value things you can do for earthquake preparedness in a Simi Valley home.
Securing the Rest of the House
- Top-heavy furniture — bookshelves, dressers, and tall cabinets should be anchored to a wall stud, not just resting freely, especially in bedrooms
- Cabinet latches — kitchen and bathroom cabinets with simple latches keep contents from flying open and spilling glass or heavy items during shaking
- Heavy items on shelves — move anything heavy or breakable to lower shelves rather than up high, where it has further to fall
- Wall-mounted TVs and mirrors — confirm these are mounted into studs (see our TV Mounting & Furniture Assembly page), not just drywall anchors
- Emergency shut-offs — know where your gas shut-off valve is located and how to use it, in case a leak occurs after a quake
A Tool Worth Knowing About: Earthquake Early Warning
California operates a statewide earthquake early warning system called MyShake, built by UC Berkeley's Seismology Lab in partnership with the state's Office of Emergency Services. It's free, works on both iPhone and Android, and can give several seconds of advance warning — sometimes more than ten — before shaking actually arrives, for earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or greater. Several seconds isn't much, but it's enough time to drop, cover, and hold on, or step away from something that could fall.
If you have an Android phone, earthquake alerts are often already built in automatically through a partnership between the state and Google — worth checking your phone's Settings app under Safety & Emergency to confirm it's turned on, even if you never download a separate app. You can find more info at earthquake.ca.gov.
Do I Need to Download an App to Get Earthquake Alerts?
Not necessarily — many Android phones have this built in automatically, and Wireless Emergency Alerts (text-message-based warnings for larger earthquakes) work on any modern smartphone without an app. Downloading the MyShake app adds a few extra features, including alerts for smaller earthquakes than the automatic system covers, but isn't strictly required to get a warning.
What's DIY vs. What Needs a Professional
- Handyman scope: water heater strap checks and replacement, furniture anchoring, cabinet latches, securing wall-mounted TVs and shelving
- Bigger projects, outside handyman scope: structural retrofitting (foundation bolting, cripple wall bracing) is a specialized, often permitted job for a licensed contractor — if you're concerned about your home's structural seismic readiness specifically (common in homes built before the 1980s), that's worth a conversation with a retrofit specialist, not a handyman visit