Shaking Things Up in Olympia.

Shake, rattle and roll holds an entirely new meaning for Washington lawmakers since February's Nisqually earthquake.

The 15,400-ton sandstone dome atop the Capitol in Olympia, Wash.--as well as the legislators who sit beneath it--should be featured in an upcoming Timex commercial. They took a licking, and they're still ticking.

The epicenter of the 40-second, 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake Feb. 28 that rocked the Capitol was located just 11 miles northeast of Olympia. The earthquake damaged more than 20 state office buildings, evicted more than 10,000 employees and caused the relocation of both houses of the Legislature, the governor's office and the governor's family.

The earthquake shook an area from the Canadian border to the Oregon state Capitol in Salem to Salt Lake City.

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE QUAKE HIT?

The Washington Senate had just broken for caucus meetings when the quake hit. "Everyone jumped under the table," Senator Jim Kastama reports. "People were very scared. Everyone was clutching on to one another underneath the table, just hoping for it to end."

Senator Margarita Prentice remembers, "There were some prayers going on from corners where you wouldn't normally expect them." The senators heard things falling and breaking and then the lights went out. "Things started falling and everyone tried to stand in the doorway," says Senator Lisa Brown. "A security guard jumped on top of me, which was very nice of him." Lawmakers said the dome on the Legislative Building rippled like origami during the quake.

"Many of us in the Legislature have talked for years about the Legislative Building [the Capitol] being the last place we'd ever want to be during an earthquake," says Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles. "We held on to each other while running out of the Senate and down the huge marble staircase under the dome and to the outside. Senator Jim Hargrove carried Senator Darlene Fairley [who is disabled] downstairs after the quake stopped."

House members were in their offices or in meetings in the O'Brien Building. "I was walking from the John L. O'Brien Building toward the sundial," reports observer Meta Heller. "I had just turned the corner to face the south side of the Legislative Building. The ground began to tremble; a sound roared from beneath. The movement accelerated. I saw the dome deflect, first one side, then the other, like a pendulum. The whole building shuddered. The big windows rippled in their frames. I thought for sure they would shatter. Then people started pouring out of the buildings on all, four sides-the Legislative Building, the O'Brien Building, the Cherberg Building and the state library.

School children visiting the Capitol walked out calmly and in single file.

After legislative leaders met behind the state greenhouse, Senator Kohl-Welles attended an ad-hoc meeting of the Senate at a nearby bus stop. Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder made the proper motions for adjournment to the president of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen.

Legislators were able to visit their offices briefly to retrieve personal items. "The ceiling was crumbling, and all I could think about is whether my espresso machine would be OK," recalls Representative John Pennington.

Many Capitol offices were filled with toppled computers, fallen bookcases and other debris. A false ceiling in Owen's office crashed onto an empty desk. Secretary of State Sam Reed visited his office to retrieve the official state seal, a 60-pound machine needed to make Governor Gary Locke's earthquake emergency declaration official. "My office was a complete jumble," Kohl-Welles reports. "The restroom plumbing was damaged, and marble stalls in the men's room on the fourth floor were shattered. I was very eager to get out of the building quickly in case aftershocks were to occur."

Fortunately only minor injuries were reported in the Capitol complex, although there were several close calls. A smashed marble clock came close to taking the House clerk down with it. A television that toppled to the floor in the governor's mansion nearly struck Locke's young son. An aide to Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland narrowly missed being sandwiched between her desk and two crashing bookcases.

The shared trauma could defuse some partisan tensions during the remainder of the session. "It's a bonding experience for us," says Senator Ken Jacobsen. "We've all been through a pretty terrifying experience together, and I think it's clear to us that there are things that are more important than partisanship." Representative Barry Sehlin agrees, "We'll be unified. It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or a House member or a senator. We've all got streets torn up and houses down in our districts. We just don't need to be partisan."

"This is very humbling," says Representative Karen Keiser. "You think you're talking about such important things and then the earth shakes, and you're back to square one."

BACK TO WORK

By the following Monday, senators were making do in a large meeting room in the Cherberg Building. The legislators were sitting three to a folding table with typed table tents as substitute placards. The members maintained the suits-only dress code and prohibited food or drink in their chamber. Media and lobbyists were advised not to cross the imaginary line in the carpet onto the floor of the new Senate. Several senators thanked legislative staff for their response to the earthquake. The Senate passed some bills from the floor, including one that adds more state money to improve 911 emergency telephone service in rural counties.

The House of Representatives hosted a "cleanup day" on Monday, moving files and computers from the Capitol to the O'Brien Building. A wall between two meeting rooms in the O'Brien Building may be removed in order to accommodate the 98-member chamber. "We've got twice the members and less space than the Senate. Logistically, it's more of a problem for us," reports Co-Speaker Frank Chopp.

The Department of General Administration is unsure when the Legislature and governor can return to work under the dome. The dome itself and surrounding pillars are the key points of concern for state engineers. Repairs have to be made so engineers can safely inspect the dome. One major task was securing the piece of decorative shell that split off slightly. Investigators determined that the dome twisted three-quarters of an inch and that 10 of the 50-foot, 60,000-pound columns are off-kilter--anywhere from a quarter-inch to three inches. "If they fell, they would have most likely gone right into the building below, potentially into either the House or the Senate chamber," said Andy Stepelton, a senior property manager for General Administration. Fortunately, the dome is not supported by the columns. A wooden lattice holds 15,000 pounds of stone blocks that splintered from one column.

"We're very lucky none of that dome fell. You think you have problems and priorities until something like this comes along. It reminds us life's pretty fragile," says Clyde Ballard, co-speaker of the House.

The engineers also are checking the ornate plaster ceilings above the House and Senate chambers for structural weaknesses. The plaster facades are suspended from the main ceiling by steel straps; engineers must determine whether the straps were damaged. The worst-looking damage--a jagged hole in the curved back wall of the House chamber--is not structurally unsafe. "Curved walls hate earthquakes," Stepelton says. "They act like a hinge ... It just cracks like crazy." The wall is hollow, so the falling plaster left a child-size peephole into the House floor.

Chandeliers are intact, but hang from safety wires instead of chains. The 10,000-pound chandelier gracing the rotunda does not have a safety wire, and its stability still must be evaluated. Large pieces of marble have fallen and shattered. Skylights shattered in the State Reception Room, and glass shards were stuck in the carpeting and furniture.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Past quakes in California and Washington had invigorated the states' efforts to strengthen building codes and prepare for disasters. In recent years, millions of dollars had been spent in the Puget Sound region to remodel schools, buildings and highways. The mitigation efforts paid off as the newer buildings, built to the latest seismic standards in the state uniform building code, weathered the rumbling and shaking quite well. Older buildings, constructed of reinforced masonry, took a hard hit. All of downtown Olympia falls into an earthquake hazard zone because of wet, loosely packed soils that liquefy during violent shaking. This latest earthquake will send building code staff back to the drawing board. "Every time there's an earthquake, we make adjustments," say Tim Nogler, executive director for the Washington State Building Code Council.

BUDGET CONCERNS

Although the Capitol was retrofitted for earthquakes about 20 years ago, the Legislature was considering an additional $111 million to upgrade and finish earthquake-proofing beginning in 2002. Now the fiscally constrained and party-divided Legislature must find money both for the state's overall operating budget and the needed repairs to the Capitol. Legislative leaders hope that repairs to the Capitol could be paid through a 75 percent federal match.

In addition to the damage to the Capitol campus, the state is tallying damage to its roads, highways and bridges. The Legislature was slated to address traffic congestion and highway budget needs during its 105-day session; the urgency for these efforts is even greater now. "It's scary to think what will happen to our transportation and capital budgets. All the assumptions are off the table," says Representative Luke Esser. State Budget Director Marty Brown agrees. "This screws everything up. Everything will have to be revisited." Representative Gary Alexander, co-chair of the House Capital Budget Committee, thinks about the long hours that will he needed for the appropriations process. "It's like starting all over again. We will have to put first priority on making sure our current structures are safe and stable" before approving new projects. Any new programs (and perhaps less pressing line items) will have to take a back seat to quake relief.

The Legislature is considering tapping into its $1.1 billion reserve fund for a portion of the quake repairs. Both the governor and legislative leaders had considered using half of the reserve to balance the FY 2002 budget. "This is a contingency for emergencies, and I guess this is what saving for a 'rainy day' means," says Representative Karen Keiser.

Although the state believes the federal government will help pay for building and road repairs that could cost many millions, it's unclear how much federal funding Congress will channel to Olympia. Coincidentally, President George W. Bush proposed to cut the operating budget for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by $500 million the same day the earthquake struck the Puget Sound. The president has proposed eliminating a disaster-preparedness program, Project Impact, that has helped Puget Sound communities reduce the effect of natural disasters. Several schools were retrofitted to withstand shaking from earthquakes, and 14,000 homes also were retrofitted under the program.

In one belt-tightening measure, the state does not plan to lease additional office space in Olympia. Instead, staff will be shifted to unused office space in other agencies. The governor's office has relocated to the Department of Labor and Industry Building in Tumwater. State workers and contractors, however, did receive paychecks and reimbursements with no disruption. Governor Locke also promises to remember the extra effort extended by state employees. "We need to recognize in some fashion those state workers who have been working around the clock."

"The earthquake opens the window--it shows people that a damaging earthquake is not a matter of if, just a matter of when," says Barbara Thurmand with the state Military Department.

Cheryl Runyon yon is NCSL's expert in disaster preparedness issues.

EARTHQUAKES A RISK IN OTHER PARTS OF COUNTRY

Unfortunately, a single, large earthquake, when it does occur, will be more devastating than a number of smaller earthquakes--especially if the buildings are not constructed to withstand the intense ground-shaking. Minor earthquakes in January in New York City and Ashtabula, Ohio, also are reminders that earthquakes do not always happen in the western United States.

For example, a single moderate magnitude (6 to 7 on the Richter scale) earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone--running along the central Mississippi River and affecting portions of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee--would be devastating to regional residents, causing great loss of life and billions of dollars in property damage. According to the United States Geological Survey's National Seismic Hazard Maps, the potential ground motions in portions of the New Madrid region are as high as in the western United States, but only a small percentage of buildings in the area have been designed and constructed to resist earthquakes.

Building code and public safety officials urge state policymakers to require design and construction standards that will reduce the risk of injuries and deaths from all natural hazards, including wind, snow, floods or earthquakes. In support of this policy recommendation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has released HAZUS99 Estimated Annualized Earthquake Losses for the United States. This study identifies and ranks the nation's high-risk and high-loss areas for earthquakes. The study highlights the importance of rehabilitation or replacement of existing buildings and the adoption and enforcement of building codes to reduce future risks. An executive summary is available at www.fema.gov/priv/wsspc/FEMA366Esum.pdf

CALIFORNIA MAPS EARTHQUAKE HAZARD ZONES

In California, where earthquakes have caused $56 billion in losses during the past 30 years, citizens who are worried about homes and offices built on sites susceptible to earthquakes can enter an address in a computer and instantly determine whether it is on solid ground.

The state Department of Conservation has mapped San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles and more than 100 other California cities in order to identify potential landslide and liquefaction (soft-soiled) earthquake hazard zones.

The Marina district in San Francisco is a special source of concern. The area--built on landfill for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition--suffered major destruction when the soil liquefied during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Liquefaction occurs when sandy soil becomes saturated by groundwater and then is shaken.

If a property is located in one of these potentially troublesome areas, sellers are required by law to disclose that information to buyers. The maps are not meant to deter homeowners from living in these areas, but to give them the tools to ensure their homes are reinforced before the next big quake. Most foundations can be retrofitted to withstand sinking, shifting or other movement caused by an earthquake. Concrete or chemical injections pumped into the ground will create a sandstone-like substance to fill in uneven gaps. These proactive measures cost $10,000 to $15,000 per house.

The California maps can be viewed on the Department of Conservation's Web site at www.consrv.ca.gov/dmg/shezp/maps.htm.