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Engineers and earthquake experts presented a special award today for Utah's Capitol Retrofit Project. The recognition went to all those involved in rebuilding and refitting this Utah landmark to make it earthquake safe.
But one engineer says there is another safety issue in many buildings that most people are ignoring.
For the most part, structures that are built to code probably won't fall apart during an earthquake with pieces of the building hitting people, but furnishings inside the building could. A classic scene captured by a security camera during an earthquake in Japan shows just what happens to bookcases, desks and more, even though the building itself remains secure.
William Holmes of Rutherford & Chekene Engineers said, "A business has to be aware that they could be disrupted if everything falls apart and computers break, and they have to set off their own programs."
If businesses don't tie down critical furnishings inside their buildings, they could go out of business for some time while repairing all the damage. The University of Utah Seismograph Stations, which is currently on the 7th floor of an older building, is making sure all its valuable earthquake monitoring equipment won't bounce around in its new home. Computer racks are being bolted not just to the floor, but the concrete base below. Equipment will be secured to brackets behind latched ventilated doors.
The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute and the Western States Seismic Safety Policy Council is advising all businesses to re-evaluate their office space.
"You've got to convince the tenant and the owner, even everyday office worker, to police their area," Holmes said.
He suggests securing cabinets, cases, files, computers and other electronics so when the ground moves, they won't.
Holmes says 80 percent of the cost to repair damage to a business following an earthquake goes for non-structural items torn apart inside the building.
E-mail: eyeates@ksl.com
