LOS ANGELES — The magnitude 4.4 earthquake that rocked Los Angeles Monday was centered on the Puente Hills thrust fault that runs through Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Seismologist for the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Lucy Jones said this fault is more dangerous than others because of its location. 

“There have been models for earthquakes on this fault, up to magnitude seven and a half,” she explained. “We’ll argue whether or not that’s really feasible, but clearly, it’s one of the most potentially damaging earthquakes because it runs under from here to downtown Los Angeles and therefore you have a lot of older buildings that are right on top of it.”

Structural Engineer Leonard Joseph has analyzed, designed and reviewed scores of tall and super tall buildings, including one of the tallest skyscrapers built in a seismic hot zone, the New Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles.

As a recognized expert in the impact of seismic, wind and other natural hazards on buildings, he says the skyscrapers undergo a series of tests to comply with a growing list of codes.