Based on data from ground motion detectors during major earthquakes around the world, currently strict building codes for the Western U.S. may relax in years to come, according to this report.

Scientists have been studying ground motion data from deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Taiwan and have formulated a series of five attenuation equations. These can be used to more accurately predict the effects of a major quake on ground shudder miles away from the epicenter.

This data was converted into preliminary seismic hazard maps by the U.S. Geological Survey. Some areas, as expected, show few changes or even increased risk, but some show much less risk than previously thought. Most of California, for example, would receive 10 to 35 percent less shaking, according to scientists.

New and retrofit buildings would not have to be so robust if building codes are relaxed. For facility executives in the quake-prone coastal California region, relaxed building codes could mean money in the bank.