Roadblocks to Retrofit: Why it's so difficult to get seismic upgrades done
The Nisqually Earthquake was a wake-up call to build stronger buildings across Puget Sound. More than two decades later, experts say we're still not fully prepared.
'We have millions of people living in this area with high seismic hazard,' said Harold Tobin, Director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network. 'We're obviously not going to pick up the city and move it somewhere else. So instead, what we have to do is really do the best job we can of constructing for it.'
A state database flags hundreds of residential buildings, offices, schools, and even government properties that could be at risk.
KIRO 7 spent weeks investigating the roadblocks preventing people from retrofitting. One of the biggest — money.
The Seattle Library is one of the lucky ones. The library recently completed retrofit work at its Green Lake Branch and is getting started on a seismic upgrade at the University Branch too.
'The seismic work is generally going to be about $1.5 to $2 million of the budget,' said Tom Fay, Seattle Public Library's Chief Librarian.
The University Branch building has been around since 1910.
'We want to make it safe for the future,' Fay said. 'It is actually a very long process. A lot of the work is, 'How are you going to pay for it?''
The library has relied on a 2019 voter-approved Library Levy to help with seismic retrofit work at both branches, as well as the Columbia branch (where project plans are still in the works).
The library has also utilized federal grants to help.
The University Branch will also undergo renovations to improve accessibility, replace the HVAC system, and improve sustainability and its interior. From design to completion, work at the branch will take about ten years to complete.
'You do worry, are you going to have one of those (earthquakes) and then not have had these projects complete,' Fay said.
Costs to retrofit can vary.
'A small building? A couple hundred thousand dollars,' said Ryan Vytlacil, who owns Seattle Seismic, a company dedicated to retrofit work. 'A four- or five-story apartment building, definitely over a million.'
It's a price that can be prohibitive for private landlords and individual homeowners, whose costs might be a lot lower.
In California, the state has stepped in to help. The California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) offers grants and other incentives to qualifying homeowners to retrofit their homes.
The program was created by the state's publicly managed earthquake insurance provider, the California Earthquake Authority (CEA), and the state's Office of Emergency Services.
The median cost of a retrofit project by a homeowner utilizing CRMP's grants is about $5,200, said Janiele Maffei, CEA's Chief Mitigation Officer.
The grants provide qualifying homeowners with enough money to perform the basic retrofit work. It's work that can substantially decrease the risk of damage during an earthquake.
'The savings can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,' Maffei said.
The CRMP has helped fund just under 29,500 retrofits with its flagship grant program.
The grants are paid for using a percentage of the investment income from CEA's Loss Mitigation Fund, which is then leveraged with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding.
'Less risk, less need for earthquake insurance, and just all around more resilience for California,' Maffei said.
Washington has grants to help schools with retrofit projects, as well as grants to assist commercial historic buildings, but nothing similar for homeowners.
The library is lucky, as retrofit work continues.
'These three are just three of seven that ultimately need to be done,' Fay said.
Of course, that's just seven in the Seattle Public Library system. Hundreds of buildings outside it need work too.
'There's great engineering practices that we can use to retrofit those buildings to keep them from collapsing,' Tobin said. 'Keep them from having really as substantial damage, and save lives in future earthquakes that we're going to have sooner or later.'
And even if your home or office has been retrofitted, there are still other earthquake risks to prepare for.
Previous Earthquake Coverage:
Earthquake Safety: Preparing for 'The Big One'
Neighborhoods isolated? What could happen after a major earthquake
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