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Older brick buildings at risk in earthquake, contractor warns

WorkSafeBC should ensure anyone who works in older unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs) in southwestern B.C. knows they’re at considerable risk in the event of an earthquake.

That’s the goal of an application West Vancouver contractor Stephen Noon has made to WorkSafeBC, as he feels local and senior governments have done little to warn workers of the potential hazard.

URMs are brick buildings constructed without steel reinforcements, ties and connections required by modern building codes.

Noon, who specializes in interior renovation work and hopes to import earthquake-resistant desks to B.C., fears there could be thousands of older, earthquake-susceptible buildings in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island that would suffer catastrophic damage in a major quake.

“You wouldn’t go into a place with exposed asbestos and this situation (with URMs) is comparable to that,” Noon said. “Asbestos will kill you over a lifetime, but being in the wrong building during an earthquake can kill you instantly.”

Carlos Ventura, director of the Earthquake Engineering Research Facility at the University of B.C., said a California law requires all unreinforced masonry buildings to display signs warning that an earthquake could cause major damage.

“The owners of unreinforced masonry buildings have to make it clear to the tenants that there’s a seismic risk if the building hasn’t been retrofitted,” he said.

Noon feels a WorkSafeBC warning to workers about the hazards of old brick buildings at risk would start the ball rolling on properly dealing with the situation.

“That could start an inventorying system and generally create better public awareness,” he said. “People may decide to lease space in different buildings because the one they’re in just isn’t safe.”

But WorkSafeBC spokesman Scott McCloy said it isn’t his agency’s mandate to deliver such a warning to workers.

“Although we generally expect workplaces to be constructed and maintained in a way that ensures workers’ safety, we don’t directly regulate building codes, which contain seismic provisions enforced by local government,” he said. “Building code standards are regulated through the building code administered by the building and safety standards branch (of the B.C. housing ministry). It’s more their mandate than ours — to directly regulate building codes.”

Warning signs aren’t required in Vancouver but the city requires seismic upgrades when significant changes are made to old brick buildings — including the conversion of many Gastown warehouses into office buildings.

“We still have schools and hospitals with the same type of construction so it’s a concern that not much work has been done in many of these buildings,” Ventura said.

A 1995 City of Vancouver study showed that 1,150 buildings with three or more storeys were built in the city before seismic codes were introduced in 1973. Four hundred of those buildings were found to be at “high” or “very high” risk of collapsing during a major earthquake.

The B.C. government expects to spend $2.8 billion to seismically upgrade or replace 339 schools in the province, but Noon stressed there are major seismic issues at non-school buildings throughout B.C., including the legislature buildings in Victoria.

One report estimates it would cost $250 million to complete a seismic upgrade of the provincial legislature.

“The standards here seem to be behind everyone else,” Noon said. “Even Utah has started URM reduction programs and we have done nothing, apart from the school program.”

Following the deadly 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the New Zealand government set a 20-year deadline for assessing 193,000 buildings for earthquake risk and then strengthening them. Any building at risk of collapse has to be strengthened or demolished within 15 years.

Seattle officials are establishing a list of URM buildings in their city and will consider a proposal next year that would allow building upgrades to take place over seven to 13 years, based on the building’s risk category.

Noon disagreed with WorksafeBC’s assessment, saying someone has to take responsibility for the issue.

“I think this is just passing the buck,” he said. “It’s clear that WorkSafeBC is liable for injuries and deaths that occur in the workplace and many of those will be caused by these URMs not holding up in an earthquake.”

The provincial ministry responsible for the building and safety standards branch said in a statement that employers on construction sites are responsible for ensuring worker safety.

“WorkSafeBC generally expects workplaces to be constructed and maintained in a manner that ensures worker safety,” the ministry said. “The B.C. Building Code applies during construction, up to the point the building is completed. The provincial government maintains the B.C. Building Code.”

McCloy said WorkSafeBC would usually provide compensation for workers injured during an earthquake.

“While there may be some exceptions, the answer is generally yes,” he said. “Every claim is reviewed based on its individual circumstances.”

WorkSafeBC has established a $20-million Earthquake Disaster Reserve to provide for claims from workers injured during an earthquake disaster.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Older+brick+buildings+risk+earthquake+contractor+warns/10417561/story.html

$66M earthquake-proof upgrades urged for Parliament Hill’s East Block

Building is ‘unlikely to meet 60 per cent of the seismic design requirement,’ report says.

Parliament Hill’s oldest building, an architectural gem known as the East Block, is vulnerable to the frequent earthquakes of the Ottawa area and needs at least $66 million in upgrades to make it more tremor-resistant.

Even with that minimum hardening of the walls and towers, the East Block will still be only 60 per cent as resistant to quakes as Canada’s national building code requires for all modern buildings.

Those are the findings of a series of reports commissioned by Public Works in the wake of three major earthquakes that rattled the capital in 2010 and 2012 and set the Peace Tower and a main tower on the East Block swaying back and forth. CBC News obtained copies of the internal reports under the Access to Information Act.

“The advanced deterioration of the exterior masonry walls has been a concern for many years,” says one report.

“The East Block building is unlikely to meet 60 per cent of the seismic design requirement of the (National Building Code of Canada) and will need to be upgraded.”

“The review of the building envelop investigation and screening reports has revealed significant and serious deterioration of the exterior masonry walls. Low strength lime mortar or totally degraded lime mortar was observed in numerous locations …”

Public Works is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar refurbishment of the three main structures on Parliament Hill, with the West Block well under way and the East Block next in line before workers begin a massive renovation of the Centre Block, home to the House of Commons and Senate.

Seismographs placed in the towers of these three buildings recorded the impact of relatively large earthquakes in recent years; that is, the magnitude 5.0 “Val-des-Bois” earthquake of June 23, 2010, the 4.5 magnitude “Saint-Hyacinthe” quake on Oct.10, 2012; and the 4.2 magnitude “Buckingham” quake of Nov. 6 that same year.

Towers swayed during recent earthquakes

The Peace Tower showed “strong motion” for all the events, while the southwest tower of the East Block swayed in an east-west direction during two of the quakes.

Other reports for Public Works between 2011 and 2013 investigated the crumbling masonry of the East Block walls, some of which date back to 1859 when construction began.

Public Works’ policy on heritage buildings such as the East Block is to bring them up to between 60 per cent and 100 per cent of the national building code’s standards for seismic resistance, while preserving their character. Experts have recommended the 60 per cent mark for the Gothic Revival structure, which appears to be the most vulnerable of the Parliament Hill buildings to earthquakes because of its much greater age.

Steel cable held tower together

Public Works has already undertaken a $14.1-million pilot project on one of the East Block’s towers, at the northwest, which included seismic upgrading to develop possible solutions for the rest of the building. The two-year upgrade was finished in the fall of 2013. Until then, the tower had been held together with steel-cable strapping to prevent collapse.

A 2012 estimate provided by the consultant firm Hanscomb Ltd. says upgrading the rest of the East Block to at least 60 per cent of the national building code requirements for quake-resistance will cost $65.8 million.

Hanscomb also estimated the cost for making the East Block resistant to a blast, such as produced by a bomb, but all references are blacked out in the document under security exemptions in the Access to Information Act.

Public Works, meanwhile, hired the Montreal firm Arcop Architecture Inc. in July to make its own determination of the seismic upgrades needed, as well as other improvements.

“The prime consultant is reviewing the preliminary findings contained in the (Hanscomb) report, and must then conduct further analysis and on-site investigations to finalize the seismic rehabilitation of the building,” said Public Works spokeswoman Annie Joannette.

The exterior of the oldest part of the East Block is scheduled for $167 million in upgrades between 2016 and 2022, but interior seismic hardening is still in the planning stages, as are upgrades to a 1910 addition to the building.

Seismic standards in Canada’s building code are intended to allow the safe evacuation of people inside older buildings in the event of a major earthquake.

Buildings safe: Public Works

Joannette said that “all reports to date have determined that the buildings are safe to be occupied. The East Block is safe and was not damaged during recent earthquakes.”

Barry Padolsky, an architect who recently worked on upgrading Ottawa’s historic Museum of Nature to modern seismic standards, said similar challenges await the team that will upgrade the East Block.

“They will face a similar challenge, as do all heritage buildings, and the challenge not just technically how to do it but to make sure that you don’t harm the building while you are installing it,” he said in an interview.
“There is no question that these things have to be done because the Museum of Nature, Parliament Hill and other historic buildings in the capital are part of our heritage and we would never be forgiven if we didn’t protect them.”

The Centre Block’s seismic upgrades, including to the Peace Tower, are scheduled as part of the major rehabilitation set to begin in 2018, after the Commons and Senate chambers have been temporarily moved to new locations.

Canada has two major earthquake zones, southwestern British Columbia and the Ottawa and St. Lawrence River valleys, including Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.

An October 2013 study commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated there is at least a five-to-15 per cent chance that an earthquake capable of significant damage will strike the southern Quebec and southeastern Ontario area in the next 50 years.

The study said unreinforced masonry buildings, such as that of the East Block and many historic buildings in Quebec City, are particularly at risk. A large quake could cost $60 billion in damage, mostly to shattered buildings.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/66m-earthquake-proof-upgrades-urged-for-parliament-hill-s-east-block-1.2834334

Small earthquake hits near Hampton

Earthquakes Canada reports 12 small quakes in New Brunswick in the last month.

Natural Resources Canada is reporting a small earthquake near Hampton on Sunday night.

Earthquakes Canada indicates the quake happened at 6:15 p.m. and lists the magnitude at 1.6

It says the quake was centred about 28 kilometres west of Hampton and five kilometres underground.

According to the federal government website, the quake was not felt.

In the last month, Earthquakes Canada reports there have been a dozen small earthquakes.

The most recent earthquake was a 3.2 magnitude earthquake 28 kilometres east of Plaster-Rock on Nov. 2.

There have also been several earthquakes in the Bathurst area.

On Oct. 30, there were two earthquakes in the Bathurst area. The first happened 35 kilometres southwest of Bathurst at 7:11 a.m. and had a magnitude of 2.2. The second occurred 66 kilometres southwest of Bathurst and had a magnitude of 2.1.

On Oct. 29, there were three other minor quakes, all located roughly 65 southwest of Bathurst and had magnitudes between 0.1 and 2.4.

And on Oct. 14, there was a 0.7 magnitude earthquake 58 kilometres southwest of Bathurst.

None of these earthquakes were felt.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/small-earthquake-hits-near-hampton-1.2832098

Fracking linked to Alberta earthquakes, study indicates

The most recent earthquake in the province was recorded in Peace River on Nov. 2.

Carmen Langer had just left his bed to grab a drink of water when he felt his house northeast of Peace River, Alta., begin to shake.

“At first I thought I wasn’t feeling very good that day… and it was just my blood sugar, but no, it shook pretty good,” Langer said about the Nov. 2 incident.

Moments after the shaking stopped, his neighbours were calling, asking if he had felt what they just felt.

“After a few minutes, I realized it was an earthquake,” Langer said.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) registered a small, 3.0-magnitude earthquake that was “lightly felt” from Three Creeks to St. Isidor in northern Alberta at 11:14 p.m. MT. NRCan said on its website there were no reports of damage, and that “none would be expected.”

Jeff Gu, a seismologist at the University of Alberta, said the earthquake could have been caused by shifting rock formations in the region — but added there could be another possible explanation.

“Certainly that region is not immune to earthquake faulting, but I would say having actual earthquakes in that area is relatively recent, relatively new,” he said.

Gu is one of three authors of a recently published study in the Journal of Geophysical Research, a peer-reviewed publication that looked at four years of earthquake data around Rocky Mountain House. The study concludes that waste-water injection into the ground is highly correlated with spikes in earthquake activity in the area.

It is the first study of its kind conducted in Canada that links industrial activity to induced earthquakes.

“The conclusion was that the industrial activities could, in some cases, potentially trigger or facilitate earthquake occurrences,” Gu said.

Alberta earthquakes increasing

Since 1985, fewer than 15 earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude have been recorded anywhere in Alberta, according to the Alberta Geological Survey’s website. There has been an increase in earthquake activity since the 1960s, the organization says.

The Peace River earthquake is not the only one that has shaken the province in the past few months:

In October, a 2.7-magnitude quake was recorded about four kilometres southwest of Banff.

In August, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was registered near Rocky Mountain House, causing about 500 customers in the area to lose power for several hours.

Gu said the research into whether waste-water induction and fracking are related to earthquakes is still “really a work in progress.”

“There has been more and more evidence, increasing evidence, in the last few years in particular — in Arkansas, in Texas and actually more recently here,” Gu said.

But he said there is nothing to fear right now.

“I’m not worried until we get a conclusive answer on whether these are caused by industry or not, whether they are naturally occurring,” Gu said.

Langer, however, is worried.

“With all the stuff that’s going on in my community, I’m feeling quite concerned about it,” he said. “We’re having all kinds of environmental problems in the community… Something has to give here.”

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fracking-linked-to-alberta-earthquakes-study-indicates-1.2829484

2.7-magnitude earthquake confirmed near Banff

A small earthquake has been confirmed near the mountain town of Banff in western Alberta.

The 2.7-magnitude quake was recorded roughly four kilometres southwest of the town site. Natural Resources Canada says it happened Thursday at 5:42 p.m. MT.

Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen says the small earthquake was felt by residents.

“It was an interesting sensation,” she said. “I think most of the community, myself included, we were all just sitting down to dinner, or getting home from work, and there was definitely a rumble. I would say two to three seconds at most.”

She said many describe it as a “very large truck driving by your home.”

Sorensen said the fire department and town manager looked into the situation immediately, but no damage or injuries have been reported.

She said some people living in nearby Harvie Heights also felt the quake, but Sorensen said Canmore’s mayor did not feel the rumble.

Although earthquakes are rare in Alberta, they do occur.

The Banff area has seen earthquakes in the past, although Sorensen said she has never felt one during the past 30 years living there.

The largest earthquake measured in the area had a magnitude of 6.0 back in 1918.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/2-7-magnitude-earthquake-confirmed-near-banff-1.2802161

B.C.’s earthquake preparedness questioned again

More than six months after a scathing auditor-general report said B.C. was not ready for a catastrophic earthquake, the province says work has been completed on only two of the report’s recommendations but progress is being made on the other seven.

Thursday marked B.C.’s fourth annual ShakeOut, an event designed to promote earthquake preparedness and encourage people to drop to the ground, take cover under a desk or table, and hold on. Hundreds of thousands of residents took part, including students, first responders and employees at local businesses.

In late March, then-auditor general Russ Jones said the provincial government and Emergency Management B.C. (EMBC) had not prioritized catastrophic earthquake planning. The justice minister immediately said all nine of the auditor-general’s recommendations would be met.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson says two of the recommendations have now been fulfilled: EMBC has developed a strategic plan to meet the province’s long-term goals, and it has worked on its procedures to ensure it is prepared to respond to a massive quake.

As for the other recommendations, the spokesperson said work is under way to establish a B.C. earthquake planning team that would be led by EMBC and supported by the Canadian Red Cross, Public Safety Canada and Department of National Defence.

The provincial government must still ensure EMBC has the necessary resources, and EMBC must report annually on the state of its catastrophic earthquake preparedness. Mr. Jones had found EMBC had not previously made clear to the public how unprepared it was for a massive quake.

A report to the province from an independent expert is due by the end of the year.

Mr. Jones, who is now the deputy auditor-general, said in an interview Thursday that members of his office will likely meet with government officials in March to review the work that’s been carried out.

In his report, Mr. Jones said he was surprised by the findings because a similar auditor-general’s report 17 years earlier had raised the same concerns.

The new report found EMBC did not have an adequate earthquake response plan and was not fully staffed. It said catastrophic earthquakes occur, on average, every 500 to 600 years, but scientists have estimated there is about a 12-per-cent chance one will occur in the next 50 years.

John Horgan, leader of the opposition B.C. NDP, said the provincial government continues to say it is taking positive action on earthquake preparedness, but is moving far too slowly. Mr. Horgan took particular issue with seismic upgrades at schools – the pace is far too slow, he said.

Premier Christy Clark, in April of last year, announced the province would commit more than $584-million to seismically upgrade 45 high-risk schools. A press release said there would be funding for 10 seismic projects in 2013-14.

Mr. Horgan said work has only begun on three of those schools. A Ministry of Education spokesperson said the funding for the projects was committed, but local districts must still submit project reports to get shovels in the ground. The spokesperson said two reports are being reviewed, and four districts have not yet submitted their reports. For one of the projects, the local board decided instead to close the school, the spokesperson said.

But Patti Bacchus, chair of the Vancouver School Board, said the seismic upgrade process does not move quickly enough. “The funding approvals for school seismic projects have become very difficult to get from the Ministry of Education,” she wrote in an e-mail. “They have quietly changed some of the proposal criteria and are sending proposals back to us asking us to cut more out of the project budgets and creating even further delays.”

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bcs-earthquake-preparedness-questioned-again/article21139980/

Your postal code can predict severity of quake damage

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s coming at precisely 10:16 this morning — are you ready?

This morning, schools, businesses and governments across the province “dropped, covered, and held on” during the Great BC Shakeout. News1130 took part in the the largest earthquake drill in BC history.

Each year, about 4,000 earthquakes are recorded in Canada, many of them in the seismically active region around BC. Most are small, but at least nine earthquakes in or near Canada have registered a magnitude of seven or higher in the past century.

How a major quake will affect your home, school or place of work depends not only the magnitude and epicentre, but also your postal code.

In 2004, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) released an actuarial map, ranking seismic risk across Canada by postal code and found 13 fell into their “extreme” rating in southwestern BC.“The ratings go from ‘very low’ to ‘extreme’ and the extreme rating is mostly in the Vancouver and Victoria areas,” says ICLR Managing Director Glenn McGillivary.

“The biggest, most damaging quakes are possible in those areas. Historically, they’ve had some very large quakes and we know the potential there is very high for a very large, damaging quake of several tens of billions of dollars in damage,” he tells News1130.

Thirteen postal codes fall into the ICLR’s “extreme” rating, including V7B, the code for Vancouver international Airport. The rest are within Richmond, Delta and Victoria.

The “very high” risk category includes V4L in Delta and V4R in Maple Ridge. V2S and V2T in Abbotsford are ranked “high,” as is V7P in North Vancouver.

Source: http://www.news1130.com/2014/10/16/your-postal-code-can-predict-severity-of-quake-damage/

ShakeOut earthquake drill aims to ready B.C. for the big one

CBC Radio will air the drill just after 10 a.m. PT on Thursday

Hundreds of thousands of B.C. residents are expected to ‘drop, cover and hold on’ as part of an international earthquake drill this morning.

CBC Radio will air the drill in B.C. at 10:16 a.m. PT, Thursday Oct. 16.

Organizers say so far 690,000 B.C. residents have registered to join about 25 million people around the world in taking part in the drill.

Everyone in the province is encouraged to participate. Organizers say residents should:

1.    DROP to the ground in simulation of a major earthquake;

2.    Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and

3.    HOLD ON to it for 60 seconds

The safest place to be during an earthquake is not in a doorway, according to a statement issued by the City of Vancouver.

“In most modern structures, doorways are not any stronger than the rest of the building. Running outside can also be extremely unsafe as it could be difficult during the shaking and there may be falling objects and glass.

“If it’s difficult to get safely to the floor, crouch down, protect the head and neck, and move away from windows or other items that can fall.

“If in a wheelchair, lock the wheels and remain seated until the shaking stops. Always protect the head and neck with whatever is available,

“After the drill, take the time to identify hazards that may be found at home or in work areas, mitigate these hazards, and update emergency plans and kits.

“Most residents are aware that they live in a high risk earthquake region, but many are not aware that a large majority of injuries and deaths during earthquakes occur due to falling objects, and not structures.

“Participating in the drill is a great way to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from a large earthquake, whether at work or at home.”

To register as an official participant of ShakeOutBC, visit www.shakeoutbc.ca and follow ShakeOutBC on Twitter @ShakeOutBC or Facebook at facebook.com/ShakeOutBC in preparation for the drill.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shakeout-earthquake-drill-aims-to-ready-b-c-for-the-big-one-1.2800741