![]() Historic buildings that had been retrofitted performed as well as their modern counterparts. I know my experience may be unique, but the vast majority of damage I saw was in buildings that predate modern standards of construction. Think of the Magna Event Photos and the inventory of unreinforced masonry buildings that expressed the majority of incurred damage. From many perspectives the Magna Earthquake was a perfect snapshot of progress in seismic resistant design and its advancements over the last 50 years. I hope that lead-in statement sounds optimistic, as I believe we all should be. This notwithstanding, how can we prepare for something bigger (not if, but when it comes)? However, from a practical perspective, another ‘Magna Event’ is the more likely scenario. ![]() The ‘design level’ event will throw us into a scenario far more grave than Magna with consequences and outcomes difficult to imagine. I believe we all appreciate that Magna was a very small event, nowhere close to the ‘design level’ event captured within the context of the current code. Presuming the next earthquake will not impede your ability to work, it starts with some simple questions What are the tasks you must undertake in the immediate aftermath of the next earthquake? Which clients do you expect to be giving you a call within minutes of the shock? Do your clients presume you will be there for them and that they are at the top of your priority list? Is there someone in your office whose job it is to coordinate the post-earthquake evaluation effort and field the flood of calls coming into your office? Unless you are a charity, do you have a mechanism for communicating your expectations for fee? If not, I suggest you give it some thought. Even better, the Magna Event may have prompted us and some owners to embrace the Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP). Maybe we even have post-earthquake evaluation forms or boiler plate reports ‘at the ready’ for the next time they are needed. Even still, with the Magna Event 3 years in our rear-view mirror, we at least have some notion of what to expect for the next event. Despite our best preparations and pre-emptive efforts, the next earthquake, just like Magna, will not happen when it is convenient for us all to drop what we are doing and move into a post-earthquake reconnaissance mode. So, I offer some thoughts and observations on the Magna Quake…3 years later.Įmergencies, by nature, do not happen at a convenient time. As I made my notes, I hit the magical number of 10 and decided that was a good place to stop (yes, I’m a fan of David Letterman!). As I think back on my own experience of the last three years, a flood of fundamental ideas came to mind. How time flies! It seems fitting to look back upon what has happened since that day and contemplate what we learned, how we’ve grown, and how this event has (hopefully) prepared us for the future. ![]() ![]() ![]() Mamarks the third anniversary of the Magna Earthquake. I’m certain the newsletter editor would welcome the material! Each of the 10 ideas in and of itself could be fodder for a separate newsletter article and the readers are invited to consider the concept and maybe even offer up thoughts of their own for a newsletter article. This article quickly became a much larger topic than initially envisioned…so much so that each of the concepts listed below has been reduced to shortened summary. By Jerod Johnson, PhD, SE, LEED AP – Structural Principal EngineerĬourtesy of Structural Engineers Association of Utah ![]()
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