Rod Kauffman, executive vice president of the Building Owners and Managers Assn. of Seattle and King County, conducted an informal survey of the organization's members after the quake, asking for reports on how well their buildings fared. As of this afternoon, Kauffman had received about 30 to 40 e-mail responses.

For the most part, Kauffman tells GlobeSt "most of the damage has been minor – cracks and fallen plaster, mostly cosmetic damage." Buildings most affected were older, masonry structures and those built on the more unstable land, such as clay fills and sand he says. "Pioneer Square has both, and that's why you saw so much damage there." Kauffman continued saying that damage would certainly have been more severe if not for built-in seismic precautions and retrofits.

This morning, Governor Gary Locke and King County Executive Ron Simms both applauded the area's earthquake-proofing efforts. Says Locke, "We're so lucky that more people weren't seriously injured or killed. Fortunately, we have significantly upgraded our building codes … because we know we are earthquake prone." Simms equally praised the regions efforts, "All in all our bridges held up remarkable well -- 52 bridges had been retrofitted. We do have to begin to look at Alaskan Way Viaduct and its continued viability."

The arterial, also known as Highway 99 runs north and south along the western edge of Seattle and was closed down for inspection until late Wednesday. This stretch of local highway has a notorious reputation for being likely to sustain damage in a major earthquake. "We now know what we have to do," says Simms, "finish and complete all the tasks ahead to make us more earthquake-proof."

Since 1994, the City of Seattle, together with FEMA has shelled out some $50 million for seismic retrofits to public buildings and bridges. Voters here recently approved a $193.1 million bond sale to raise funds slated for future seismic efforts at Harborview Hospital, the emergency-center for the Pacific Northwest. The repairs were not in time to prevent damage sustained in its emergency room as the result of a crumbled concrete wall.

The award for worst timing related to the earthquake goes to President George Bush. The earthquake came on the same day the President recommended $25 million in cuts to the federal program aimed at assisting communities in protecting against the effects of natural disasters.

Instant Insights /

Puget Sound Shaken and Stirred But Still Stable Thanks to Retrofitting

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