Modern building codes ‘never tested’ for massive earthquake, Seattle emergency director says

We’ll find out if modern building codes have prepared structures in the Pacific Northwest for a massive earthquake.

Speaking to the Seattle City Council on Monday, Seattle’s director of emergency management said, as far as she knows, the city’s building codes have not been tested. The codes are based on previous events, so there’s no way to know how buildings will withstand the looming mega-quake.

“We’ve never tested modern building codes in that type of event … our last was 315 years ago,” said Barb Graff, who has been the emergency management director since 2005.

The latest earthquakes recorded in Seattle

They’ve never been tested? Not even in a lab?, asked one council member.

The short answer is no, according to Graff. Building codes are based on previous earthquakes around the world, she explained. It’s all based on historical activity.

“Our building codes haven’t been tested in the worst possible earthquake that could happen in this area,” she said.

So until a 9.0 earthquake hits Washington, or another region, it’s anyone’s guess as to how buildings and homes will stand up to the test. Except, of course, the city’s brick buildings.

Many of Seattle’s more than 800 brick buildings are almost guaranteed to be destroyed by a major earthquake, The Seattle Times reports. It’s why the city of Seattle hired a single engineer to review the buildings. It’s one of the final pieces before a policy committee prepares an ordinance to pitch to the council in 2016.

But is the city moving fast enough? The Times reports that even if Seattle pushed out seismic-retrofit requirements for building owners faster, work wouldn’t begin until 2018. That work would take several years, too.

That’s a good reason to heed Graff’s advice: Be prepared. The city will only have approximately 200 firefighters that will be able to respond, she said. People need to know proper first aid techniques and how to take care of others.

However, the city is also doing other work to prepare. The Seattle All-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was updated recently and included several retrofit plans. The North Queen Anne Drive bridge, Post Alley area and two community centers will receive retrofits, for example. There will also be natural gas shut-off valve installations at 35 “critical” city facilities.

Whether or not this work will be fast enough, or extensive enough, will not be known until, well, a massive earthquake actually hits, apparently.