Dallas, TX – Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW Dallas) hosted the panel “DFW Earthquakes: Effects on Real Estate” May 20th on recent northern Texas seismic activity. Partner’s own Technical Director of Structural Engineering Joshua Marrow, PE led the conversation and provided insight into research by Southern Methodist University identifying a link between recent earthquakes in the area and nearby oil and natural gas wells.
Marrow discussed the impact of earthquakes to buildings and the local real estate market, and offered a general perspective on the seismic activity in Texas and its risk compared to other parts of the country, for example California where Marrow is based. Marrow was joined by several legal and insurance expert, including Joseph Willoughby, Principal with Frederiksen and Frederiksen, an independent insurance agency and Kassandra McLaughlin, partner of Husch Blackwell legal firm.
The general sentiment expressed by Marrow was that while the earthquakes in the area may be frequent, they are unlikely to pose significant threat or instigate much change in policy as long as they remain relatively small (magnitude 4.0 or less). However, a seismic risk assessment can determine a building’s risk in the event of a larger earthquake and seismic retro-fits possible if deficiencies are found.
Multiple Dallas news outlets covered CREW’s “DFW Earthquakes: Effects on Real Estate” panel discussion, including The Dallas Business Journal, Addison Magazine, and Dallas City Biz List.
