UO prepares buildings, people for 9.0 Cascadia Earthquake

Originally Posted on Emerald Media via UWIRE

Within the next 100 years, a 9.0 earthquake will hit the Pacific Northwest, destroying buildings and bridges, disrupting plumbing and cutting electricity. FEMA estimates the damage in the U.S. will be $60 billion. Major cities including Eugene, Portland and Seattle will likely have no electricity or running water for several months. It will be one of the biggest natural disasters in U.S. history, and Eugene is not ready for it.

The Cascadia fault, the origin of the earthquake, runs from Canada down to Northern California, several miles west of the coast. Tension has been building along the fault since 1700, the last time the fault caused an earthquake. We are currently in the recurrence window, meaning the earthquake could happen at any time.

The Cascadia earthquake is estimated at 9.0 on the moment magnitude scale. This scale is logarithmic, meaning one step up on the scale is exponentially more powerful. To put that in context, this earthquake will release over 1,000 times more energy than the recent Nepal earthquakes, which stayed around 7.8.

Building codes in the western U.S. did not begin to take major earthquakes into consideration until the 1970s, when seismic codes became standard. Many buildings built before then are considered at risk of collapsing during the earthquake. The University of Oregon has been taking steps to minimize the impact of the earthquake on campus. Many buildings are being renovated to increase their stability.

“The University of Oregon has been working on seismically upgrading buildings for several years,” said Krista Dillon, Assistant Director of University of Oregon Emergency Management and Continuity, in an email. Allen, Fenton, Anstedt and Peterson Halls have all undergone upgrades. Straub Hall is the most recent in the series of renovations, according to Dillon.

Straub Hall, built in 1928, has been undergoing construction since July 2013. The project plan is to “implement seismic upgrades,” as well as replace basic utilities because “current building systems — power, data, HVAC, plumbing, etc. — are woefully outdated and inefficient.” The seismic upgrades phase of the project accounts for $271,038.13 of the total $22,319,000 funds, $9,000,000 of which come from within the university.

Researchers at UO have been looking for another way to prepare for the earthquake: predicting it before it happens. Doug Toomey, geology professor at UO, has been working with the state government to implement an earthquake early warning system. The system would give Eugene two minutes of notice before the earthquake strikes. Portland will have three minutes and Seattle will have five.

Toomey leads the Cascadia Initiative, a four year, $30 million project funded by the National Science Foundation. It features a network of arrays detecting plate movement all across the Pacific Northwest. In June 2014, Toomey spoke to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources to ask for $670,000 for additional sensors. The project was approved and is in the governor’s budget.

Toomey believes awareness of the earthquake among government officials is increasing. “Both federal and state policy makers are keenly aware that we live in earthquake country and need to be prepared,” he said in an email.

UO will continue to prepare on campus. Emergency Management and Continuity will be working on a post-disaster recovery plan for campus in the next year or so, Dillon said.

A major factor in preventing damage and loss of life is public awareness.

“Public awareness is a huge factor when it comes to earthquakes,” Dillon said. “The unique thing about a university related to awareness is that we have people coming from all over the country and all over the world who may be unaware of the earthquake risks in Oregon.”

UOEMC suggests keeping a supply of water, non-perishable foods and cash in your home in case of an earthquake. Dillon also suggested having a bicycle, because public transportation may not be operating and roads may be too damaged to drive.

Read more here: http://www.dailyemerald.com/2015/07/03/uo-prepares-buildings-people-for-9-0-cascadia-earthquake/
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