A soft story building is a multi-story structure built with a first floor that is much less rigid than the floors above, making them prone to structural damage during earthquake shaking. More specifically, they are classified as buildings with at least 80% open area one wall, and at least 50% open area on two adjacent walls. These structures were built to obsolete seismic standards that incorrectly predicted the effects of an earthquake. The unreinforced openings (ie. tuck-under car ports) cannot withstand the movements, resulting in cracks and subsequent collapse, posing serious risks to the occupants and public.