School Collapses - A Tragic Timeline

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Resources About FSSBC School Collapses - A Tragic Timeline home news

Families for School Seismic Safety

School Collapses - A Tragic TimelineWhen many of British Columbia's schools were built, little was known about how buildings would perform in

earthquakes and indeed very little thought was even given to how ground movement would impact buildings. While it

is tempting to think that only our oldest schools - very often red or other "heritage" brick schools - are at risk, even

schools built as recently as the 1970's fail to meet what we now consider today as minimum building performance

standards during an earthquake.

In short, we expect all occupants of a building to survive an earthquake.

"The basic question is why again and again, even in affluent, industrial countries such as Italy and in middle-

income developing countries such as Turkey, with a great wealth of engineering and other expertise, school

buildings collapse in moderate earthquakes."

"What I'd say right away is that a middle income developing country, an aspirant to membership in the EU,

should have every, that is EVERY, school in the country inspected and where necessary reinforced. This is so

basic to risk mitigation in a seismically active area, it seems foolish to have to write it down!" - Ben Wisner,

Research Fellow with the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, University College London

Unfortunately, even today, a great many B.C. schools do not live up to this common sense expectation. Canadians

wouldn't consider Canada a third world country but we are treating our children as if we are.

What follows is a long and tragic list of school collapses around the world. In some cases corruption and shoddyconstruction practices played a part in these "building performance failures". In other cases the age of the building

predates modern knowledge of safe seismic building design and construction practice. The buildings which, before

they failed catastrophically, most resembled Vancouver's school buildings, were those of Long Beach, California.

Our time line begins there.

1933 The Long Beach Earthquake

The Long Beach earthquake, estimated at magnitude 6.25 Ms, occurred at 5:55 p.m., March 10, 1933. Engineered

buildings and reinforced concrete buildings sustained little or no structural damage in the earthquake. Brick buildings

with unreinforced masonry walls, including many of the school buildings in Long Beach and surrounding areas, failedcatastrophically. If the earthquake had struck a few hours earlier, when school was in session, the loss of life would

have been appalling. As it was, 120 people died in the quake largely from collapsed houses and small buildings or falling

debris, including 5 children who died in failed gymnasia.

The school buildings damaged or destroyed were of an "irregular shape," built of brick and not designed to resist any

lateral stress. As well, part of the failure of the brick buildings was due to shoddy workmanship and inferior mortar.

Several of the failed school buildings were designed with elaborate entrance towers that collapsed in a hail of bricks

and architectural ornamentation. Reinforced concrete school buildings survived the quake with no structural damage.

(Source: Susan Fatemi and Charles James, National Information Service for Earthquake Engineering ,University of

California, Berkeley)

The Long Beach earthquake destroyed 70 schools and damaged 120 other schools of which 41 were rendered unsafe for

occupancy and remained closed. As a result legislation known as the Field Act was enacted to give the State the power

to approve public school construction plans, inspect ongoing construction, and inspect existing school buildings,

Today, The Field Act (Sections 39140, et seq of the Education Code) is administered by the State Architect and helps

ensure the safety of California's children.
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The Field Act is intended to protect life and safety and resist earthquakes insofar as practicable. No student, teacher,

or anyone has been killed from an earthquake in a school building since its enactment in 1933. (California Seismic Safety

Commission)

(Below: Franklin Junior High School before and after the 1933 earthquake. Photo: Historical Society of Long Beach)

Before

After a serious but relatively moderate earthquake

Collapse of John Muir School on Pacific Avenue from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake. Photo Credit: W.L. Huber

1935 Helena, MT, Earthquake

Earthquake of October 31, 1935, Helena, Montana, USA. Location: almost directly beneath Helena; Affected Area:


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363,000 km2; Damage: 4 million. A series of earthquakes beginning on October 3, 1935, shook the area. The strongest of

the shocks was on October 18. Several shocks of lesser intensity were followed by a second strong earthquake on

October 31 that destroyed many buildings that had been previously damaged. The shocks continued with additional

strong shocks on November 21 and November 28.

Photo Credit: NOAA/NGDC.The photo shows the west wing of Helena High School that collapsed in the October 31 earthquake. The collapsed part

of the school had reinforced concrete frame, floors, and roof, and the tile floors were faced with brick.

The greatest amount of damage to a single structure was incurred by this building although it had just been

completed only two months prior to the earthquake at a cost of approximately $500,000.

1949 Olympia and Seattle-Tacoma Puget Sound Earthquakes

The best documented large earthquakes in Washington are the deep Puget Sound earthquakes of April 13, 1949,

between Tacoma and Olympia, and April 29, 1965, between Seattle and Tacoma (Edwards, 1951). The damage patterns

in both of these earthquakes were similar, although the 1949 earthquake was more destructive ($150 million damage

versus $50 million damage, in 1984 dollars). Some of the damage sustained in 1965 was to buildings previously weakened

by the 1949 earthquake.

In both the 1949 and 1965 earthquakes there was substantial damage to older masonry buildings with inferior mortar

(Gonen and Hawkins, 1974) and to buildings with inadequate anchorage of framing to floor and roof joists (Seattle Fire

Department, unpub. report, 1965; MacPherson, 1965). Differential ground settlement caused significant damage to

both new and old buildings. Most damage in Seattle during the 1949 and 1965 earthquakes was concentrated in areas of

filled ground, especially in the Pioneer Square area, where there are many older masonry buildings, and along the

waterfront ( Figure 39). In 1965 nearly every waterfront facility in Seattle was damaged. In Tacoma, damage occurred

mainly to cornices and chimneys of older structures built on soft ground in lowland areas and on firmer gravel in

highland areas. In Olympia, damage was primarily confined to the old part of the city and to areas of the port built on

artificial fill. In 1949 a portion of Olympia's industrial area, built on fill extending into Puget Sound, settled 5 inches.Forty percent of business buildings and houses were damaged in Centralia in 1949. In Chehalis, four schools, the City

Hall, the library, and the court house were damaged considerably, although all were built on solid ground. Washington

schools sustained a disproportionately high level of damage during the 1949 and 1965 earthquakes. In 1949 and

1965, Seattle schools built prior to 1950 suffered extensive structural and non-structural damage. Thirty Washington

schools, normally serving 10,000 students, were damaged in 1949. Ten of these schools were condemned and

permanently closed . Three Seattle schools were torn down, and one was rebuilt. In 1949, a large brick gable over the

entry of Lafayette Elementary School in West Seattle collapsed directly onto an area normally used for assembly of

pupils at the time of day the earthquake occurred.

Similarly, the Washington State Training School for Boys in Chehalis, Washingtonm sustained severe damage when a

gable collapsed daring the 1949 Olympia earthquake. Fatalities and injuries to school children would have been muchhigher had many Puget Sound schools not been vacant because of spring vacation.

http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/INFO_GENERAL/NQT/where_damage.html
http://www.geophys.washington.edu/SEIS/PNSN/INFO_GENERAL/NQT/where_damage.html


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This unanchored gable collapsed at the Castle Rock High School in the 1949 earthquake. The building is of

unreinforced masonry construction. A student was killed by falling bricks.) (Photo from A. E. Miller Collection,

University of Washington Archives)

1952 Kern County, California

Earthquake of July 21, 1952, Kern County, California, U.S.A. Location: south of Bakersfield; Affected area: 414,000square km; Damage: $50 million. This was the main shock of the series of earthquakes that struck this area. It was the

largest earthquake in the United States since 1906. Several hundred people were injured. Nine of the deaths resulted

from the collapse of a brick wall in Tehachapi. About 20 schools were damaged or destroyed by this earthquake. Many

of the schools that collapsed were built prior to 1933. Schools built after 1933 were constructed to resist lateral forces

and incurred only minor damage. These included Caliente, Tehachapi, El Tejon, Lakeside Union, and Santa Barbara city

schools. Older schools that were destroyed or had to be abandoned included Shaffer, Cummings Valley (slide 9),

Buttonwillow, Di Giorgio, Fairfax, and Elk Hills schools. Porterville Union High School auditorium and several other older

schools incurred moderate damage.

The Cummings Valley School completely collapsed. The school building was reportedly constructed in 1910 of concrete

walls and a wood roof. The building was a total loss.

(Source: http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1/document/647005.htm)

1964 Alaska

March 27, 1964 - Felt over approximately 7000,000 square miles of Alaska, and portions of western Yukon Territory and

B.C., Canada, this was one of the most violent earthquakes ever recorded and was accompanied by vertical

displacement over an area of 170,000-200,000 square miles. The major area of uplift trended northeast from southern

Kodiak Island to Prince William Sound, and east-west to the east of the sound.

Only the sparse population and time of occurrence when schools were closed, business areas uncrowded, and tides low

prevented the death toll from surpassing 131. (Civil Defense estimates included 122 deaths from the tsunami and 9 fromthe earthquake.) Total damage from the earthquake and tsunami was between $400 and $500 million.

(Source: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/Seis/64quake/Alaska_1964_earthquake.html)
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/Seis/64quake/Alaska_1964_earthquake.htmlhttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1/document/647005.htm


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Government Hill elementary school, which was destroyed by the Government Hill landslide. 1965, Anchorage, Alaska

1976 Tangshan, People's Republic of China

On July 28, 1976 at 3:42 am, an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 struck near the east coast of China. The epicenter was

near Tangshan, an industrial city with a population of about 1 million people. Officially, the Chinese government

estimated between 240,000 and 250,000 people were killed. In the decades since the quake, the death toll is estimated

closer to half a million. At the dormitory of one school, the College Mining Institute, more than 2000 students were

killed. Most school buildings in Tangshan were destroyed by the earthquake.

(Sources: http://www.geo.arizona.edu/K-12/azpepp/education/history/china/,http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1/document/647005.htm and

http://web.nankai.edu.cn/english/aboutnku/history.shtm )

1980 El Asnam, Algeria

This earthquake struck on October 10, 1980 and registered 7.4. Eight-five school buildings collapsed in the quake,

which fortunately occurred after school hours.

(Source: http://www.ngdc.nona.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1)

1985 Mexico City EarthquakeAt 7:17 a.m. September 19, 1985, a powerful earthquake registering M8.1 rocked central Mexico. The quake was

centered in the coastal mountains of the Michoacan Province and caused substantial damage throughout central

Mexico, including in Mexico City - some 240 miles east of the epicenter.

Severe damage occurred to about 500 buildings in Mexico City with widespread light to moderate damage in other

parts of the country. Although quake killed over 8,000 people, causalities would nave been much higher if the quake

had occurred just a couple hours later when the schools and office buildings would have been full with people.

(Source: http://www.seismowatch.com/EQSERVICES/NotableEQ/Sep/0919.Mexico.html)

The quake destroyed as many as 100,000 housing units and countless public buildings. Government buildings were hit

the hardest, especially the Ministries of Communication, Employment, Defense, Education, and Urban Development.This earthquake caused over 4 billion dollars in damage. (Source: http://www.geo.arizona.edu/K-

12/azpepp/education/history/mexico/)
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/K-12/azpepp/education/history/mexico/http://www.seismowatch.com/EQSERVICES/NotableEQ/Sep/0919.Mexico.htmlhttp://www.ngdc.nona.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1http://web.nankai.edu.cn/english/aboutnku/history.shtmhttp://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/image/geohazards_v1/document/647005.htmhttp://www.geo.arizona.edu/K-12/azpepp/education/history/china/


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Collapsed School Building - This is one of the many school buildings that collapsed in the earthquake. School buildings

are particularly exposed to risk from earthquakes since they lack adequate stiffening in shear walls of large classroom

areas. Fortunately, the earthquake occurred before school had started. Photo credit: Reinsurance Company, Munich,

Germany.

1988 Armenia earthquakeThe Spitak, Armenia earthquake occurred on December 7, 1988 at 11:41 AM. The earthquake measured a moment

magnitude of 6.8, and occurred 32 kilometers from Armenia's second largest city, Leninakan, and within 9 kilometers of

the city of Spitak. Of the 700,000 people affected by the earthquake, over 25,000 were killed and 31,000 were injured.

The majority of the residents of Spitak died. Due to the widespread collapse of schools and the fact that school was in

session when the earthquake struck, more children than adults perished. - from GeoHazardsInternational - A Nonprofit

Organization Working Toward Global Earthquake Safety (www.geohaz.org)

Historic Earthquakes, Armenia 7 December 1988, U.S. Geological Service
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1988_12_07_ev.php


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Four hundred children were killed at this elementary school in Dzhrashen southeast of Spitak, Armenian SSR. The

pre-cast concrete floors in the building collapsed due to poor ties with the walls. Image Credit: C.J. Langer. U.S.

Geological Survey

24 children died in this pre-school facility

1989 Loma Prieta School, San Francisco, California

By Michelle Alaimo Oct. 17, 1989, 5:04 p.m. - Those who live in the Bay Area know exactly what happened and where

they were on that date at that time. That's when the earth violently shook from a 7.1 earthquake leaving behind a

mass of destruction. That's also when the Loma Prieta School became no more.

Luckily, the earthquake hit at a time when school was out and children were at home. The force of the quake knocked

the old school on Summit Road off its foundation. Underlying the school was a series of faults that caused floors to

buckle and dips to form, making most of the nearly 30-year-old school unusable. (Source: Los Gatos Weekly-Times)


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1997 Cariaco, Venezuela

At 3:24 p.m. on July 9 1997 an earthquake struck the north-eastern area of Venezuela, some 300 km from Caracas; the

ground motion caused five reinforced concrete buildings, two of which were school buildings, to collapse, killing 74

people and leaving 522 wounded. The quake also caused liquefaction and soil failure in several towns along the

coastline. In the town of Cariaco, two school buildings, the two-storey bank and a hotel that was under construction,

all made of reinforced concrete, collapsed, as did some 300 single-family dwellings made of bahareque or masonry walls.

Other one-storey buildings near the schools were not damaged. 1999 Taiwan

This 7.6 magnitude September 21 earthquake in central Taiwan killed 2,400 people and injured thousands. A three-level

school collapsed, but fortunately the quake occurred during the night when students were at home.

(Download article from Journal of Structural Geology 1.1 MB)

2001 Ahmedabad, India

January 27, 2001

25 school children, teachers dead in Ahmedabad school collapse. As the earthquake hit Ahmedabad on Friday, several

children of the Swami Narayana School had gathered to participate in the Republic Day function. Some had been

attending a special science practical exam.

Unfortunately for them the quake hit so suddenly that only a few could run to safety. At least 30 of them took refuge

under a staircase as the school building came tumbling down.

Deputy commandant of the Rapid Action Force, H.P.S.Buller said that rescue workers had pulled out 25 bodies,

including four children who were still alive, and three dead teachers. A further four bodies were pulled out shortly

after, and rescue workers said that at least five children could still be trapped inside.

(Source: Gujarat.com)

October 31, 2002 San Giuliano di Puglia, Italy

Twenty-six children died while attending a school Hallowe'en party when an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter

scale hit their village causing their school to collapse, but leaving all other buildings standing. Angry residents asked

why the school fell like a house of cards while other structures nearby had only minor damage. Three women were also

killed -- one of them a teacher at the school. In all, 29 people -- 26 of them between the ages of 3 and 10 -- died.

BBC World News reported the following quotes from witnesses at the scene of the collapse:

"The houses - who cares about them - it's the children. Who can give a mother back her child?" One woman at the

scene became increasingly agitated, shouting to the rescue workers: "54 children . . . Christ, do you realize what's

happening here, do you realise what it means to have 54 children buried in there?"

2003 Ankara, Turkey 4th May, 2003

Ankara, Turkey 4th May, 2003

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale struck at 3.20am on the 1st of May 2003 in the Bing"ol province of

Eastern Turkey. A quarter of a million people are estimated to live in the area. This is the second earthquake of this

magnitude to strike Bing"ol in thirty-two years. The shock was felt in five other cities and more than seventy

aftershocks were recorded within a few hours. As of the 5th of May, 177 were reported killed and 520 injured. The

worst hit was the boarding school in Celtiksuyu, fifteen kilometres east of the city of Bing"ol, where 85 students and

one teacher died and 115 were rescued.

The collapse of Celtiksuyu school, built in 1998, echoes the damage caused by previous earthquakes in Turkey. Schoolbuildings tend to be damaged most by earthquakes in Turkey: following the Marmara earthquake of 1999, 131 schools

collapsed.

Initial reports confirm that schools are the worst hit. Apart from Celtiksuyu boarding school, three more school


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fsssbc org/pages/school collapses a tragic timeline html 9/9

buildings have totally collapsed and scores of others were damaged beyond use (Source: ReliefWeb)

Turkey: Education needs acute following earthquake BINGOL, 5 May (IRIN) - Education was one of the first victims of

last week's powerful earthquake in the eastern Turkish city of Bingol, which left 167 dead, and over 500 injured. More

than 90 percent of the schools in the area were impacted by the quake, leaving thousands without facilities to

continue their education.

Of the 27 schools in the city, four had collapsed, nine would need to be torn down, 11 received light damage and three

remained unscathed, the official said, noting that an additional 75 schools in the surrounding villages had yet to be

fully assessed. (Source: ReliefWeb)

(Below: Photos of collapsed dormitory and school in Turkey)

2003 Bachu County, China

This 6.8 magnitude earthquake in northwest China killed 261 people and injured thousands. Approximately 900

classrooms collapsed. Fortunately, thousands of children escaped what education bureau officials called "almost certain

death" when they left their classrooms for physical education classes just minutes before the quake razed the schools

to the ground. A bureau head said "If the quake had happened a half hour earlier or later, it would have been

unimaginable." PE classes in the area start at 10 a.m. and the quake hit at 10:03. Of 26 schools in the villages worst hit,

13 were destroyed.

(Source: ReliefWeb)

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School Collapses - A Tragic Timeline

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