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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake program received a $1.9 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will help pay to protect 100 city homes from earthquakes, federal officials said Monday.
The federal money was sent to the city’s Fix the Bricks program, which began in 2016 and helps unreinforced masonry dwelling homeowners along Salt Lake City's fault lines retrofit their homes to prepare for strong seismic activity. The federal money also covers a large chunk of the $2.55 million project.
The city has an interactive map that shows which homes are most at risk of a major earthquake in Salt Lake County. The map shows the northeastern and southeastern portions of the county, as well and pockets in the middle have the highest risk for earthquake damage.
A Utah Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey survey released in 2016 says a 50 percent chance of a major, damaging earthquake is likely in the next 50 years. The Deseret News reported in April that one in three Salt Lake County homes is at risk of crumbling during a magnitude-7.0 earthquake or higher.
The risk of the next big earthquake hitting Utah is why the state sponsors the yearly Great Utah ShakeOut. Utah Division of Emergency Management spokesman Joe Dougherty said earlier this year that the reason is to prepare Utahns for the inevitable.
“The thing we really want people to get in their brains is that they (may) be on their own wherever they are for an extended period of time,” he said. “It could be a couple of weeks or more before help arrives in any specific neighborhood.”
Salt Lake residents that qualify for the program are encouraged to call 801-799-3698 or email fixthebricks@slcgov.com.
