2012 Issue

57 Utah would cause $436 million in structural damage, $1,150 million in non-structural damage and another $545 million in building content loss for the Salt Lake County area. Note that the estimated structural damage is only 20% of the total economic damage. One of the main reasons for the non-structural damage seen in buildings has been a lack of enforcement of existing code pro- visions. To help mitigate this problem, the Seismic Committee has given a presentation on the importance of providing non- structural seismic bracing to government agencies, architects, mechanical engineers and building contractors. These semi- HAZUS Run for Taylorsville, Utah 6.0 County Cost: Structural Damage Cost: Non-Structural Damage Total Loss: (Including Contents) Davis $14M $46M $85M Salt Lake $436M $1,150M $2,131M Utah $1M $4M $7M Weber $1M $2M $3M $451M $1,201M $2,226M nars led the DFCM (Department of Facilities and Construction Management for the State of Utah) to create a set of detailed enforcement procedures to ensure that non-structural seismic bracing is being provided in State facilities. Currently, the Seismic Committee is working on creating a document that covers when seismic upgrades are triggered for existing buildings. The current code provisions for triggering seismic upgrades in existing buildings are found in several loca- tions and have resulted in differing interpretations from building department to building department, from architect to architect and from engineer to engineer. We are hoping that by creating a document that summarizes all of the code requirements in one location and then providing some opinion guidelines on how the Seismic Committee interprets these code provisions, we will create a uniformity of understanding for when seismic upgrades are required, and this will hopefully lead to improving the safety of our existing building inventory. 