Friday | February 10, 2012
California Campuses Not Earthquake Safe
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By
YOUNG MONEY Staff
22 March 2010
A California Watch investigation has found that, “Nearly 180 public university buildings in California used by tens of thousands of people have been judged dangerous to occupy during a major earthquake — including libraries, classroom buildings, student apartments, gyms, a hospital and even a child care center.”
Apparently, some university officials have known about these problems for five years or more.
UC Berkeley, which sits on the Hayward fault, has 71 buildings that would incur “structural damage and endanger people’s lives in a major quake.” All of these buildings, not just in Berkeley but throughout the state, are currently in use and occupied by students and teachers.
While the California State University system has spent hundreds of millions fixing seismically challenged buildings over the past few decades, there are still many other occupied buildings yet to be fixed. And some CSU schools have used state money to build new buildings before fixing older ones that, in an earthquake, could potentially harm or kill the students using them. CSU policy doesn’t mandate fixing the most dangerous buildings first.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has made these two predictions about California’s seismic situation in the next 30 years:
- California will see one or more 6.7 magnitude earthquakes.
- There is a nearly 50-50 chance California will see an earthquake of 7.5 or greater.
Of course it is a balancing act. The schools have to spend money upgrading labs and building new buildings in order to keep up enrollment and stay competitive. If the UC system were to shut down all of the buildings that were potentially dangerous they would have to allow fewer students in to get an education. The public higher education system in California is the only option for thousands of young adults who can’t afford the high price tag of a private university education.
With California deeply in debt, and the UC system raising tuition, cutting back on classes and professors it will probably be a while before the state has enough money to fix these problems.
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