In the past, whenever I heard someone say “California,” I’d think of beaches, vegan food, and earthquakes. When someone said “New York,” I’d think of busy streets, good food, and … not earthquakes. But, that was then, and this is now. 

In case you left planet Earth last month and haven’t heard, New York City, all of its buildings, and the millions of people it houses experienced a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on April 5. Yes, the Empire State Building is fine — it said so itself on X. 

But, is it fine? 

Earthquakes aren’t typical in New York. According to the Northeast States Emergency Consortium (NESEC), there have only been 550 recorded earthquakes in New York between the years of 1737 and 2016. Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year — 100,000 of which can be felt, and 100 that cause damage.

Now, I wasn't surprised at all when my sister moved to Los Angeles last year and told me she felt an earthquake. But, for someone who didn’t grow up in New York and hasn’t been alive since the 18^th century, the thought of an earthquake didn’t even cross my mind when I moved to New York. 

One of the most appealing aspects to me about the city is that it’s the one that “never sleeps.” And, that’s because, although I’m human and require sleep, I don’t do it often or on a regular schedule. I didn’t sleep the night before the quake because I was working on some school projects. I went to bed at 6:30 on the morning of April 5. So, imagine my surprise when it woke me up at 10:30 a.m. 

My first thought was that a ghost was violently shaking my bed. And, yes, I know that’s a strange thought, but keep in mind I was barely awake. Once I heard all the dishes rattling and realized it was more than just my bed shaking, my second thought was that someone blew up a building. It wasn’t until it stopped, and I heard someone outside ask, “What was that?” that I finally wondered if that could have been an earthquake. Approximately 15 seconds later, the internet was flooded with hilarious memes to assure me it was. Now, I know there's no scientific proof that links earthquakes with the climate. But, as the climate continues to change, there are coincidentally more earthquakes. So that got me thinking ...

It's believed that the resulting fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused just as much, if not more, damage than the quake itself. So, I can't help but wonder what would happen to a place like New York, where earthquakes haven't historically happened, and the mechanical systems aren't built to withstand anything beyond a 5 on the Richter scale, if that were to occur. 

And furthermore, shouldn't we be making other design considerations in terms of the climate change that is (debatably) happening? Because, I mean, what happens to system efficiencies when there's a blizzard in Texas or a 100° temperature differential in Michigan from one day to the next?

If we're designing for changes in conditions, like occupancy, use, public safety, etc., are we also accounting for the possible changes in temperature, weather patterns, and natural disasters — not the historical or average but the undocumented, yet to come?