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Schools will not withstand earthquake
May 24, 2007
Most Klamath County and city of Klamath Falls schools, and some of its fire and police station buildings, would likely collapse in the event of a significant earthquake, according to a state report.
Of the 28 elementary and high school buildings in the county, all but two were ranked high (more than 10 percent probability) to very high (100 percent probability) of collapse. Only Pelican and Keno elementary schools were rated as moderate (more than 1 percent probability).
Report presented
The report, authored by Don Lewis, assistant director of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, was presented Tuesday to the Oregon Legislature. It was the culmination of two years work examining 2,366 buildings within 1,280 public school and community college districts and 354 public safety and hospital districts.
Officials from the agency cautioned that the word “collapse” does not necessarily mean the disintegration of a building, but also includes ways a building may become unusable Klamath County was one of the areas that got special attention in the report. Two of Oregon's most damaging earthquakes occurred in 1993. The 5.9 and 6.0 quakes in September of that year near Klamath Falls caused $10 million in damage and killed two people. Six months previously, a March quake, magnitude 5.6, centered at Scotts Mills about 40 miles south of Portland, caused $30 million damage.
KU most vulnerable
Of the two high schools, Klamath Union received more “very high” risk ratings on different sections of the school than did Mazama, which had all “high” ratings on various areas of its structure.
Seismic upgrades to current structures, which would have cost about $20 million, were the biggest item not even included in the school bond which voters defeated last November 7.
According to a Klamath County School District bond recommendation report prior to the election, county schools in greatest need of the most extensive, and expensive, retrofitting were deemed to be Bonanza K-12, Gilchrist High School, Chiloquin Jr./Sr. High, and Henley Middle School, though all schools needed some work.
Most damage during an earthquake is caused by ground motion. However, buildings constructed in Oregon before 1990 were built to lower seismic standards and are especially at risk of collapse and other forms of structural failure during an earthquake, according to the report.
Agency Director Vicki McConnell said many schools ended up in the “very high” risk category because of age. Most of the buildings were built before the state adopted seismic building codes in the 1970s.
Researchers did not do detailed structural studies. They made their assessments based on visual examinations of the outside of the buildings and by looking at such factors as the building's age, the soils, the probability of an earthquake and the materials used in construction.
“The risk is based on the maximum considered earthquake, said James Roddey, earth sciences information officer for DOGAMI. “For (the Klamath) area it would be a rupture on one of the crustal faults up to a magnitude of 7.0.”
McConnell said earthquake risk in Oregon is low compared to California and Washington.
Fire, police do better
Sky Lakes Medical Center was ranked at low risk. Most of the fire protection district stations in the county ranked low to moderate. Exceptions were the Gettle Street (very high), North Broad Street (high), and Mitchell Street (high) stations of Klamath County Fire District 1; South Second Avenue, Chiloquin (very high), and Harriman in Rocky Point (high).
The City Police building on Walnut Avenue was ranked at high risk, while the Klamath County Sheriff's Office on Vandenberg Road was ranked low.
Klamath Community College building 3 was ranked high, while building 4 was rank low. Oregon Institute of Technology was not included in this report.
A call to county school administration for comment was not returned before press time.
- By Lee Beach
Most Klamath County and city of Klamath Falls schools, and some of its fire and police station buildings, would likely collapse in the event of a significant earthquake, according to a state report.
Of the 28 elementary and high school buildings in the county, all but two were ranked high (more than 10 percent probability) to very high (100 percent probability) of collapse. Only Pelican and Keno elementary schools were rated as moderate (more than 1 percent probability).
Report presented
The report, authored by Don Lewis, assistant director of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, was presented Tuesday to the Oregon Legislature. It was the culmination of two years work examining 2,366 buildings within 1,280 public school and community college districts and 354 public safety and hospital districts.
Officials from the agency cautioned that the word “collapse” does not necessarily mean the disintegration of a building, but also includes ways a building may become unusable Klamath County was one of the areas that got special attention in the report. Two of Oregon's most damaging earthquakes occurred in 1993. The 5.9 and 6.0 quakes in September of that year near Klamath Falls caused $10 million in damage and killed two people. Six months previously, a March quake, magnitude 5.6, centered at Scotts Mills about 40 miles south of Portland, caused $30 million damage.
KU most vulnerable
Of the two high schools, Klamath Union received more “very high” risk ratings on different sections of the school than did Mazama, which had all “high” ratings on various areas of its structure.
Seismic upgrades to current structures, which would have cost about $20 million, were the biggest item not even included in the school bond which voters defeated last November 7.
According to a Klamath County School District bond recommendation report prior to the election, county schools in greatest need of the most extensive, and expensive, retrofitting were deemed to be Bonanza K-12, Gilchrist High School, Chiloquin Jr./Sr. High, and Henley Middle School, though all schools needed some work.
Most damage during an earthquake is caused by ground motion. However, buildings constructed in Oregon before 1990 were built to lower seismic standards and are especially at risk of collapse and other forms of structural failure during an earthquake, according to the report.
Agency Director Vicki McConnell said many schools ended up in the “very high” risk category because of age. Most of the buildings were built before the state adopted seismic building codes in the 1970s.
Researchers did not do detailed structural studies. They made their assessments based on visual examinations of the outside of the buildings and by looking at such factors as the building's age, the soils, the probability of an earthquake and the materials used in construction.
“The risk is based on the maximum considered earthquake, said James Roddey, earth sciences information officer for DOGAMI. “For (the Klamath) area it would be a rupture on one of the crustal faults up to a magnitude of 7.0.”
McConnell said earthquake risk in Oregon is low compared to California and Washington.
Fire, police do better
Sky Lakes Medical Center was ranked at low risk. Most of the fire protection district stations in the county ranked low to moderate. Exceptions were the Gettle Street (very high), North Broad Street (high), and Mitchell Street (high) stations of Klamath County Fire District 1; South Second Avenue, Chiloquin (very high), and Harriman in Rocky Point (high).
The City Police building on Walnut Avenue was ranked at high risk, while the Klamath County Sheriff's Office on Vandenberg Road was ranked low.
Klamath Community College building 3 was ranked high, while building 4 was rank low. Oregon Institute of Technology was not included in this report.
A call to county school administration for comment was not returned before press time.
- By Lee Beach
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