Editor’s note: This article is part of a series reviewing the history of Utah and the United States for the Historical section of KSL.com.
SALT LAKE CITY – When a 5.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the Wasatch Front last year, it literally hit the heart of Utah’s history.
The earthquake caused so much damage that the 110-year-old Rio Grande Depot, which houses the Utah State History Division and the state’s historical archives, was closed because the building was considered unsafe. Even a year later, the building remains largely closed due to damage.
Nearly 150 historic buildings across Salt Lake County were damaged by the earthquake. Of these, only one was serious enough to be demolished, said Chris Merritt, Utah’s historic preservation officer. But the earthquake was an important reminder that there are many historic structures and homes at high risk the day the next major earthquake hits the area.
That’s why conservation and geological experts met on Thursday night to conduct a virtual chat recapping the damage from a year ago and discussing ways to ensure that the next big earthquake is not so destructive – or at least that don’t be the worst case scenario.
“We need to keep talking. … We need to have this conversation more than once a year,” said Merritt, sitting in his office at Rio Grande Depot. The wall behind him still has large cracks visible from the earthquake.
“We need to have a combined, unified and strategic way to save as many of these buildings as possible to help private companies and homeowners find ways to preserve these really cool pieces from our past.”
The damage recorded a year ago
After the earthquake on March 18, 2020, the Utah State Historical Preservation Office conducted analyzes of historic buildings in the primary areas likely to be affected. This included areas such as Magna, near the epicenter of the earthquake, as well as more historic construction sites in Salt Lake City – such as the Hardware district and the Liberty Wells neighborhood.
The agency’s preliminary report, compiled two weeks after the earthquake, identified about 145 buildings designated or eligible for historic status that received damage from the earthquake. The list included some well-known structures in the county, such as Madeleine Cathedral, Crane Building, Fisher Manson, Rio Grande Depot, Salt Lake City-County Building, the Salt Lake Temple and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
The most common damage they found was in chimneys. The damage to an apartment complex they found in downtown Salt Lake City was so severe that it alerted outside officials of the security risk. Other common damages include cracks in brick or adobe structures. Some of the hardest-hit buildings have also suffered roof collapses.
Only a recognized historical structure was not recoverable. The damage to the Septimus Sears House in 1902 S. 400 East in Liberty Wells was so extensive that the owner decided to demolish it, said Merritt. The house was built in 1896 and was considered one of the oldest houses in the neighborhood.
“This is the story that I don’t want to happen,” he added. “I don’t want to lose any more historic structures.”
Continuous risks for historic buildings
As big as the Magna earthquake was, a larger earthquake is designed to do much worse damage.
For example, a document produced by the Envision Utah organization estimated that some 60,000 buildings in the four Wasatch Front counties would be destroyed in earthquakes of 7.0 or more; about 95% of these structures were located in Salt Lake County. Another 36,000 structures would be severely damaged.
One of the main reasons why so many structures are at risk is that the great earthquake danger was not really known until the mid-1970s, noted Envision Utah. Many earlier buildings were not built with earthquakes in mind. Salt Lake County is most prone to widespread damage because that is where most homes and businesses are located.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a new report on the subject on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake. Thursday’s report stated that there were about 140,000 structures in the state that are at risk of major damage from an earthquake because the buildings “do not incorporate the reinforcing steel required by modern building codes.”
“They cover a wide variety of buildings, from individual houses to businesses, schools and places of worship,” the agency wrote in a statement. “These structures can more easily succumb to movement and tremors during an earthquake, posing a threat to the building’s occupants, as well as to external individuals in the vicinity of the structures.”
An earthquake in the Wasatch Front fault zone would have a significant impact on the state, the region and the country for years.
–Steve Bowman, geologist at Utah Geological Survey
This is in addition to critical infrastructure such as water, gas and oil pipelines and broadband connection in the region. Projections point to billions of dollars in damage costs and further economic losses.
“An earthquake in the Wasatch Front fault zone would have a significant impact on the state, the region and the country for years,” said Steve Bowman, a geologist at the Utah Geological Survey.
While speakers at Thursday’s event recognized the continuing risk of an enviable large earthquake, they also pointed out that there are ways to mitigate the impacts of a disastrous earthquake.
“One thing that people really should recognize is that we can prepare for and deal with these dangers,” added Bowman. “We shouldn’t be afraid of them. We just need to recognize them, come together and deal with them.”
Finding solutions to save historic buildings, including homes
Salt Lake City’s Fix the Bricks, which is in coordination with FEMA, is one of the best examples of recent programs aimed at renovating and rehabilitating old homes at risk of serious earthquake damage. Experts found that homes that went through the program did well even after last year’s earthquake.
But it is also a relatively small local program with a growing waiting list. Greg Schultz, Magna’s municipal administrator, said it is a program that needs to be expanded not only to other communities at risk, but to more people, in general, to help rehabilitate more homes more quickly and reduce any impact caused by the next great earthquake.
“We don’t believe that FEMA knows how big Fix the Bricks needs to be in this state,” he argued. “I can tell you on Magna Main Street, I can’t point to a building that doesn’t need any amount of reinforcement on its facade to prevent it from being damaged or destroyed in the next earthquake. The other challenge we have here is a substantial amount of residences of unreinforced masonry. “
Schultz said that this is not just federal money, it is something for which the state legislature could provide additional money. It is also something for which public-private partnerships can help provide funding.
“We have to try to pull as many levers as we can to make sure we try and keep things going,” he added.
Merritt agreed that it was a program that needed to be expanded, since there are many buildings at risk, especially in Salt Lake County.
One of the biggest problems that hinder Fix the Bricks’ long waiting list is that many residents are unaware that their home is at risk of major damage, Schultz said. In addition, many residents are also unable to afford retirement costs.
Recently, efforts have been made for earthquake safety. The HB 366, sponsored by Rep. Clare Collard, D-Magna, was presented at the legislative session earlier this year. The aim was to require the Utah Seismic Safety Commission to “develop guides and videos for homeowners related to earthquake risks from unreinforced masonry homes.”
More specifically, it would educate homeowners to let them know if they have an “unreinforced masonry house” and expand information on how to renovate their home and reduce the risk of serious damage or destruction as a result of a major earthquake. The project failed in a House vote, 26-41, earlier this year.
One argument against the bill before the February 24 vote was that there were already online videos on how to deal with unreinforced masonry housing. Collard then replied that if residents did not know about the problem, they would not look for the videos.
We need to do something really good, pre-mitigation work. … The next earthquake may be tomorrow and we cannot stand still and procrastinate.
–Chris Merritt, Utah historical preservation officer
Collard joined the virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss the failed effort. She said that many of her colleagues were aware of and concerned about the problem “but did not see the urgency of it”. She said that residents could simply move out, but due to homelessness and housing accessibility problems in the state, many simply cannot. And if a resident could move, he would simply pass the baton on to someone else who would be at risk for a major earthquake.
“Homes will always be occupied, regardless, and normally these residents don’t have the funding to just renovate their homes, so we know we have to work on it,” said Collard, noting that she would bring it up again later this year, with a project to law that could expand Fix the Bricks across the state.
The FEMA report released on Thursday offers five recommendations, including new adaptation programs and code amendments.
Earthquake insurance is another thing that is strongly promoted. While you’re not in the meeting, the Salt Lake County Emergency Management Department tweeted on Thursday that it is important for people to look for earthquake insurance quotes.
“Most people get a terrible quote the first time and give up,” tweeted the agency. “Buy earthquake insurance.”
While the issue may not seem like an urgent matter at the moment, experts were quick to point out on Thursday that no one knows when “the big problem” is going to strike. All that is known is that historical patterns suggest that this is likely to happen at any time over the next few decades. The Magna earthquake was a reminder of the unpredictability of the situation.
But it also leaves an unknown deadline to complete the retrofit to lessen the impact of a major earthquake. That’s why experts have argued that it is important to work on as many buildings as possible now, instead of waiting.
“We need to do something really good, pre-mitigation work,” said Merritt. “The next earthquake may be tomorrow, and we cannot stand still and procrastinate.”