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Re: The Rattle in Seattle



The National Archives and Records Administration - Pacific Alaska Region - Seattle is located to the north-east of the downtown area, about 30 miles from the epicenter.  Although we continue to inspect and monitor  we believe we have suffered no structural damage.  We house some 820,000 cubic feet of records on shelves stacked fifteen rows high.  It appears like some of our shelving units battered the drywall surrounding structural pillars in the stack areas.  Some of the stacks appear to have "walked" up to an inch off their footprint.  We had the floors painted a few years ago and you can readily see how much movement there was.  We have noticed some 8 to 15 inch cracks in the interior block walls.  So far we haven't seen any boxes that fell off shelving units, but the archives reported two tubes rolled off a top shelf.

Staff out in the stack areas say the shelving units lurched forward and backward toward the main aisle as much as twelve inches.  GSA structural engineers were out in the afternoon and were very surprised at how little damage was evident.  We will be looking closely at shelving units for popped bolts or cross members. 

Only one staff member was up a ladder at the time.  Another swears he was paged by the front desk a few seconds before it hit and came down from a ladder and was making his way to the reception area.  The front desk says there was no page for him.  That is our one supernatural tale for the day.

Some of our Genies never missed a beat and kept on spinning their microfilm readers.  Staff who live closer to the epicenter reported much more damage at their homes; broken bulbs, mirrors, nic-knacks and assorted items rocking off shelves and desks.  In some cases paint peeled off walls in sheets.  

As Deb Kennedy stated, overall, the Seattle area faired pretty well.  Mostly the older brick buildings suffered damage.  As a mid-westerner this is definitely a new experience.  I kept thinking about where the tornado shelter might be.  I still get nervous that my home does not have a basement.



Steven Ourada
Director, Records Center Operations
Voice (206) 526-6501
Fax (206) 526-6575
steven.ourada@seattle.nara.gov

>>> "Kennedy, Deborah" <Deborah.Kennedy@METROKC.GOV> 03/01/01 11:08AM >>>
I just thought I would chime in on the reactions to yesterday's quake. The
King County Archives is just east of downtown Seattle. We had four drawers
come out of one of our map cabinets and the records center had two or three
boxes fall off the shelves but we sustained no major damage.

Overall, the damage in Seattle is minor. The Pioneer Square SODO (South of
the Dome) districts were hit the hardest. Both those areas were built on
landfill. They have only red tagged 8 buildings in Seattle. There are some
road closures that are complicating the traffic situation. It took me three
hours to get to work this morning. I live 9 miles from the office but have
to cross water to get here.

Deborah Kennedy
King County Archivist
King County Archives and Records Management
1215 E Fir Street,   Seattle, WA 98122
phone: 206/205-1396, fax: 206/205-1399

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