Jay Evenson: Earthquakes: How is Utah preparing for major earthquakes?

Want to blatantly stop the conversation? Just ask people what people are doing to prepare for the next earthquake.

Well, that might not work out in a public conversation with ordinary people who might have used the 5.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Magna last March as an opportunity to replenish their 72-hour toolkits and make more detailed plans for how to reunite their families or stay in touch if it separated. As frightening as the pandemic has become, those few days in March have made us feel helpless in a different way. We can at least wear masks and social distancing to keep the virus away, but when the walls start to vibrate, the prep time is over.

It sure would slow down the conversation, if you were talking to a politician or other public official.

I asked for it on Monday during an editorial board meeting with several mayors and others from the Utah Town and Town Association. To be fair, they were prepared to talk about the challenges that Utah cities face during their period of high growth, so I surprised them.

As you prepare to grow, I ask, what do you do to ensure the safety of some of the old buildings in your communities?

After a few seconds of silence, I got what I usually get, a discussion about the costs involved in truly preparing Washington for the large facade.

By the way, last March was not the big event. It was moderate. The large will be at least 6.75 on the Richter scale. A 2016 report by the Utah State Seismic Safety Commission reported that we experience a magna-like earthquake somewhere in the region every 5 to 30 years. If it happens somewhere far away, we don’t think about it much. Adults are much rarer, but we’re late.

The report said we had a 43% chance of seeing one sometime between 2014 and 2063, and we’re already six years safe after that. We have a 57% chance to see 6.0 or higher over the same time period.

The reason I pose this question to government officials is because when it comes to the big issue, Utah has a big problem. It has, by some estimates, more than 147,000 homes, schools, and office buildings built with unreinforced stone. In other words, the brick homes were built before 1975.

Think back to March. Other than mobile homes, the biggest threat to human safety during an earthquake came from falling bricks. Although no serious injuries were reported, it is almost certain that a large earthquake will turn old brick homes into weapons that directly injure or kill people inside and outside.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has projected a death toll of around 3,000 from such an event, with the associated economic impact that would make the effects of the pandemic appear minimal. The only way to reduce this number is to support these structures now; Modify it in ways that secure the bricks and attach firmly to foundations and ceilings.

It is, of course, expensive.

Some cities have “brick repair” programs that offer grants to help with some costs. They can use the redevelopment money to tackle some of the problem as well. But the money is limited. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many of these homes are occupied by people of little means, and many of them are rented.

The question is, as the legislature prepares to start its regular session next month, is the state ready to help in any way? Do lawmakers consider this a priority? If not, then why?

Legislators could start simply, by passing a law requiring sellers to inform potential buyers that the home they are considering is not fit for an earthquake code, and provide them with information on software that can help them fix that. At the very least, people should understand the risks of what they’re buying.

The state can assign someone to look into this problem and formulate strategies.

As it is, the state and the people who own these unsupported buildings are betting that the grand building will not happen during their lifetime – a strategy that means that something will not happen until it is too late.

Earthquakes never pose urgent problems until they occur.

But when the big event happens, the cost of fixing things is likely to be less than it would have taken to support things previously.

At this point, this realization will be guaranteed to stop nearly every conversation.

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