Earthquake_Prep_in_Helena_Mt

| Earthquakes in Helena Montana | Capella University PS 3200 | | Bryan Beniger | 3/15/2012 | The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the preparations that have been made for a large scale earthquake in Helena, Montana. Helena is the capital of the state of Montana and a large scale earthquake would have an effect on the entire state. With the state Government being housed in the community a large earthquake could severely hinder the operations of Emergency Management at the state level. This paper will present the history of the last major quake that struck Helena, the preparations that have been made, and the future outlook for further steps needed to be taken to protect the community. Helena sits in a pretty seismically active area in western Montana. In October 1935 Helena started experiencing small tremors. The first of these occurred on October 3rd Montana suffered through a series of nearly a hundred earthquake shocks in the month of October 1935. Helena experienced three damaging earthquakes on the 12th, 18th, and 31st of the month. Prior to October 1935 there was a sense of immunity from natural disasters in Helena this contributed to an atmosphere of uncontrolled construction earthquake hazards and earthquake resistant design and construction were greatly disregarded. Antiquated construction in Helena behaved predictably during the tremors and offered few new lessons to structural engineers. Damage was a repetition from information learned from previous shocks from around the country. Chimneys collapsed, parapets fell, walls parallel to interior framing collapsed, and partial or total collapse of these structures was the ultimate end. Most buildings with unreinforced masonry bearing walls were severely damaged within the month long barrage of seismic activity. Industrial smoke stacks built almost entirely of brick fell down. Public records from the time indicate that prior to October 1935 impartial appraisal of many of the older buildings in Helena would have led to condemnation. Newer buildings in Helena complied with local structural design requirements and adhered to common design practices. In these cases structural failure could not be placed on poor construction. The inadequacy of existing structural design requirements became painfully obvious after a large earthquake. The October 18th earthquake brought serious damage to City Hall as well as the mercantile district in downtown Helena. In this district many chimneys were down. Brick dwellings were seriously damaged or partially collapsed, brick veneer was thrown off, and many commercial, school, and public buildings were greatly affected, some totally destroyed, the worst wreckage occurred in structures on the softer alluvial soil toward the valley notably the new High school and Bryant School. Helena High school was dedicated in September 1935 and was set to house students for the first time in October, after the earthquakes that month the school never opened and was eventually destroyed and rebuilt adhering to new seismic resistant practices. With the damage to City Hall which also housed the police and fire departments they were forced to work out of tent camps for daily activity. The last large shock of October 31st caused the collapse of parts of buildings which previously had been seriously affected but which remained standing, including the new High School and the Kessler Brewery. It also caused new damage in many structures not previously seriously affected. The failure of the high school is directly attributable to deficiencies in design. The skeleton frame was designed for vertical (not horizontal) loads and reinforced for such loads only. Walls could offer no stability to the frame. As a result the walls broke up and shattered, and the frame was cracked or ruptured in many places. One good thing that came out of this series of earthquakes was that an early version of a strong ground motion seismograph was deployed and high quality records were obtained in part because of the duration of the earthquake storm. In 1940, the Montana earthquake records were used by M.A Biot to develop the first earthquake response spectrum curves. While summing up his report to the Board of Fire Underwriters of the Pacific on the series of Helena earthquakes the structural engineer H.M. Engle wrote, “the earthquakes considered individually were not notably great in duration, destructive intensity, or area affected. The amount of damage will probably exceed $4million which is serious in a city the size of Helena. The people of Helena face a serious situation in the rehabilitation of their city. It is no disgrace to admit the inadequacy of past practice in design and construction, but it will be a disgrace if engineers, architects, and residents of the district generally fail to profit from their lesson. Rehabilitation to be intelligent must be more that repair; it must include strengthening and additional safeguard against future shocks (Montana Earthquakes Oct. 1935).” Upon interviewing Paul Spengler Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator for Lewis and Clark County many pieces are in place for the next major quake in Helena. As everyone knows there is as of yet no way to accurately predict an earthquake so the identification of the hazard is recognizing that the Helena valley lies in a seismically active area where earthquakes are likely to occur. Mr. Spengler stated that it is not his position as an Emergency Manager to determine building codes but he does make suggestions to planning committees as to seismically stable construction as well as retro-fitting older buildings with seismic protection. One of the first steps that the IC is expected to either request or complete with available resources is a damage assessment. Mr. Spengler explained that in Lewis and Clark County as well in most emergency management systems this is a two phase approach. The initial damage assessment is used to determine the general impact and damage to vital facilities, resources, and provide a brief overview of the impact on citizens and businesses. The second assessment is more in depth used to determine the full extent of the damage and the financial implications for disaster declarations and disaster assistance. The biggest priority in the initial assessment is generally the restoration of emergency response, direction and control capability, and the saving of lives. The goal for the Helena area is for the initial assessment to be completed using aircraft as soon a feasible. Numerous agencies are available to the Emergency Manager in the Helena area for use of aircraft both from the public and private sectors. The local chapter of the American Red Cross was the main agency mentioned in terms of providing shelter for individuals who are displaced by the disaster. Mr. Spengler mentioned that he maintains an open line of communication with representatives from the Red Cross to keep the channels open for future use. In the Hazard Annex provided to me there is also mention of the Salvation Army being a secondary option for providing shelter, food, and other resources to those who are displaced for extended periods of time. Mr. Spengler stated that in the presentations that he makes to community organizations and in workplaces he stresses the fact that resources will be primarily devoted to incident stabilization and immediate life safety concerns, and that they should be prepared to be self-sufficient for an extended period of time potentially 3 days or more. The preparatory phase we spoke of stresses the need for responders to be adequately trained and equipped to respond to a disaster of this scale. In 2009 a weeklong statewide training program was staged in Helena to simulate responses to target hazards in the state. Local responders were exposed to pre-training courses to familiarize themselves with the necessary pre-training knowledge to handle responding to the mock disaster. An Urban Search and Rescue team from Salt Lake City was brought in to train individuals on the initial response after an earthquake. Salt Lake City is the closest team of this caliber and an agreement has been made that in the event of a large earthquake in the state that they will respond once requested in 24 hours. Helena has the luxury of being the capital of Montana. It is a luxury in the fact that the state government is located in the community and once the declaration has been made at the local level the time to reach the governor to declare an emergency will be extremely short. The time saved being able to declare a statewide emergency/disaster will get additional resources in a timely fashion and the possibility of a federal declaration will come more swiftly as well. Mr. Spengler said that the field of Emergency Management is ever evolving and rapidly changing which makes it very exciting to be in. The use of technology in the last decade is as he stated light years beyond where it was when he started in the field. The one thing he warned about was not to rely solely on technology and be comfortable with secondary systems in case of a systems failure. When asked what challenges could affect the availability of resources available Mr. Spengler stated the obvious that if there is another large scale disaster that occurs at the same time resources may not be available. He also stated that the transportation system may be affected to the point that resources would not be able to access the affected area and would have to find alternative ways to get to the scene of the disaster. Helena is the only major city in Montana that is known to lie near an active fault capable of causing large earthquakes (Qamar and Stickney, 1983). Lewis and Clark County (2004) completed a HAZUS computer simulation of a 6.3 earthquake in Helena. The simulation revealed that property damage would be nearly $1 billion for an earthquake of this magnitude. Fatalities and injuries would depend upon the time of day that the earthquake would occur, but may cause up to 12 deaths. The model results estimated government building damage would be minimal, but the default government building data built into the model is poor and likely underestimates the potential damage. The Capitol Complex is located in areas that have a very low potential of liquefaction susceptibility. New construction in the Intermountain Seismic Belt is taking place in areas vulnerable to earthquake damage. The State Of Montana has adopted the International Building Code (IBC), 2006 edition and seismic provisions or requirements found in the IBC are what the state requires for commercial buildings built in Montana. Seismic requirements are found throughout the code and are not condensed into a table or chart of requirements. Different building types, different occupancies and different uses all have varying degrees of seismic requirements and even different materials utilized in those different buildings and occupancies carry additional or different requirements i.e. wood construction of a police station would have different seismic requirements than a masonry built police station. A building with an occupant load of over 300 people would require additional seismic considerations than if the building held less than 300 (same use, same materials). The staff of architects and engineers at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Building and Measurement Standards perform plan reviews to ensure designers have included the seismic provisions and requirements found in the building code. The IBC recognizes the differences in seismic activity by evaluating three main parameters; 1) amount of motion – this is a site specific value derived from software using a location’s zip code, 2) site class or soil type for a specific building site, and 3) the seismic use group which is the type of building use. These three parameters are analyzed to arrive at a “seismic design category” which the code then provides for specific requirements based on a project’s seismic design category label. For example a project located in an area where the ground motion has been determined to be high, the soil type at the site is determined to be such that not much dampening of that motion is likely to occur (not hard rock – silt or loose soil present) and the building is considered an “essential facility” such as a police station or hospital then the seismic design category will calculate out to be such that higher seismic requirements will be placed on that structure. You could have the same motion and the same soil type but have a building that is not essential (could be right across the street from the police station) and the seismic design category would be such that the requirements for seismic design will be lower. The IBC does not cover single family residences. The State Of Montana has adopted the International Residential Code (IRC), 2006 edition for one and two family residences and townhouses. The State of Montana, Bureau of Building and Measurement Standards does not have jurisdiction over single family residences (they are exempt from the requirements of a building permit by law). Local jurisdictions (cities, counties and towns) can elect to become certified to take on enforcement of single family residences. Currently there are 42 certified jurisdictions including four counties that are certified to enforce building codes; however, they must adopt the same codes and operate under the same process as the State of Montana. The future for the State of Montana in terms of Emergency Management operations for a large scale earthquake at this time looks bright. With every incident that occurs worldwide the technology to predict, warn, and assist in an earthquake increases. With this technology formulating an action plan becomes much easier for an Emergency Manager. With earthquakes they are not disasters that are specific to one region so with many agencies having to prepare for this disaster the information sharing will allow states such as Montana and communities like Helena to learn from others that have had to respond to a large scale disaster and formulate their response accordingly. Currently there is research being conducted to use the same satellites used for global positioning that can detect electromagnetic radiation similar to emissions noticed prior to earthquakes. There are currently 12 GPS satellites in orbit around the earth. The theory suggests that much of earth's rock has soaked up water, which has later been exposed to extreme heat and pressure inside the earth. Those conditions break apart the water and create the electrically conductive crystals that exist inside most rocks, as well as by-products such as oxygen. As pressure builds before an earthquake, the oxygen molecules inside the rocks undergo chemical reactions, creating a positive electrical charge that radiates out toward the earth's surface. The charge creates a subtle fluorescent, infrared glow and a magnetic field one to two weeks before a major earthquake. The positively charged magnet creates a dimple, up to 20 kilometres deep, in the earth's atmosphere by attracting negatively charged ions from as far away as 600 kilometres above the surface of the Earth. To detect this ionospheres’ dimpling, the satellites would monitor the existing Global Positioning Satellite System with three small GPS antennas on its side. As each GPS satellite comes up over the horizon, its signal would pass through the ionosphere. Any dimpling would change that signal (Bland, 2008). One potential issue that Emergency Managers will face in terms of an earthquake response in the state of Montana is the fact that local resources will be overwhelmed quickly. State and Federal assistance will have to be sought very early in the response to allow for proper resources to be in place. Since September 11th 2001 the main focus of both FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security has been to focus on homeland security thus limiting the available funds available to a natural disaster such as a large earthquake. DHS/FEMA has become focused almost exclusively on the terrorist threat to the near exclusion of traditional natural and technological hazards. Existing funding and staff resources have been reprogrammed at DHS/FEMA to terrorism-based activities and new resources are being applied almost exclusively to this threat. FEMA’s attention has been effectively diverted from any hazard beyond terrorism (Haddow, 2005). Earthquakes may never be accurately predicted, but projections that can give citizens in an earthquake prone region additional time to seek shelter could save countless lives. References: Biot, M. A. (1942, April). A Mechanical Analyzer for the Prediction of Earthquake Stresses. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 31(2), 151-171. Retrieved from http://www.seismosoc.org/publications/bssa/index.php Bland, E. (2008, June 11). Satellite network to predict earthquakes. ABC Science, Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/06/11/2271137.htm Engle, H. M. (1935, November 7). Unusual After-Shock at Helena Causes More Damage, Wrecking New School. Engineering News Record, 653. Retrieved from http://enr.construction.com/default.asp Engle, H. M. (1936, April). The Montana Earthquakes of October, 1935. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 26(2), 109. Retrieved from http://www.seismosoc.org/publications/bssa/index.php Haddow, G., & Bullock, J. (2005, Spring). The Future of Emergency Management. Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management, Retrieved from www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/docs/emfuture/Future%20of%20EM%20 James, C., & Hernandez, L. (1998, January 23). National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering. Retrieved February 28, 2012, from http://nisee.berkeley.edu/montana/montana.html Jourd, L. (1935). Tent camp. [ [Print Photo]]. Retrieved from http://www.seis.utah.edu/lqthreat/nehrp_htm/1935hele/c1935he4.shtml Scott, H. (1935). High school collapse. [ [Print Photo]]. Retrieved from http://www.seis.utah.edu/lqthreat/nehrp_htm/1935hele/c1935he4.shtml Spengler, P. (2012, January 31). Interview by B. Beniger [Tape recording].,