Some essential Portland buildings are not earthquake-proof
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Portland's next big earthquake could be especially catastrophic to the hundreds of historic brick and stone buildings throughout the city — efforts to upgrade such buildings have fizzled in recent years, despite the looming threat of disaster.
Why it matters: The Northwest is earthquake country, and seismic hazard modeling from the U.S. Geological Survey shows Portland, which is near the Cascadia Subduction Zone, at high risk of damaging shaking from earthquakes within the next 100 years.
Between the lines: Unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs) are those made of brick, mortar or clay and constructed between the late 1800s and 1960s.
- While fireproof, a URM contains no reinforcing steel, and "doesn't have the strength to maintain its integrity" when shaken, according to Yumei Wang, a national earthquake expert and engineering professor at Portland State University.
- Some URMs hold cultural significance and beauty, with arched windows and stained glass, but "are death traps when it comes to earthquakes," Wang told Axios.
- In central Italy in 2016, many people died after being trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings caused by an earthquake, and the facades of the unreinforced masonry were also wiped away.
By the numbers: According to Amit Kumar of Portland's Bureau of Development Services, there are about 1,600 unreinforced masonry buildings in the city, the majority of which — around 1,300 — have not been retrofitted.
- The agency regularly updates a list of URMs. It shows that over 60 high-occupancy buildings like churches, school district facilities (including schools) and city-owned community centers have not undergone any seismic retrofitting.
- The majority of the rest of the sites are home to businesses, manufacturing plants, and apartment and condominium dwellings.
What they're saying: It can cost up to $200 a square foot to retrofit a URM that is 3-to-4 stories high, Kumar said.
- "It's not cheap, it could be even more or less depending on how those buildings are configured."
Zoom in: It cost $1.5 million to partially upgrade the roofing and walls of the 4-story Montgomery Hall dormitory at PSU back in 2005, according to Wang, who received a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for the project.
Friction point: The cost to retrofit or demolish Portland's URMs is the main reason previous efforts to mandate seismic building upgrades failed, Kumar told Axios.
- Even attempts to place placards outside URMs informing the public of their instability were unsuccessful after property owners argued the ordinance violated the First Amendment.
Now, seismic improvements are only required when an owner applies for a permit to do other upgrades, per Bureau of Development Services policy.
What's next: Both Wang and Kumar say that financial incentives from local and federal governments for URM building owners to upgrade their properties could go a long way to ensure Portland infrastructure remains standing after an earthquake.
- Though Wang said new requirements for earthquake retrofits in Seattle "is probably more along the lines of what Oregon should do."