page_title: Emergency management in American universities
section_title: Earthquakes
hierarchical_section_title: Emergency management in American universities / Natural disasters / Earthquakes
caption_attribution_description: English: The library of Stanford University is reduced to ruins after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1906.
context_page_description: In Emergency Management, higher learning institutions must frequently adapt broad, varied policies to deal with the unique scope of disasters that can occur in on-campus settings. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfires are among some of the most common natural disasters that possess the capacity for large losses of life and property, with the potential to effectively destroy a university community. Man-made crises also can pose a serious threat to life and property, as was evident in the case of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting. In order to preemptively reduce or prevent the severity of emergency situations, universities must coordinate and implement policies to effectively eliminate unnecessary risks' and decrease potential losses.
  Each emergency situation is unique and requires four steps, after an emergency has taken place at a university. Universities, such as East Carolina University, has four different steps when approaching emergency situations. These steps are known as preparedness/mitigation, response, and recovery.
context_section_description: Earthquakes happen as a result of a sudden release of energy in the earth's crust that creates seismic waves. On the surface of the earth this results in the shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. Depending on the intensity of the earthquake this shaking or displacement can result in huge amounts of damage to property and loss of life. Earthquakes can also trigger other disasters that can elevate the amount of destruction or pose new threats not associated with the actual earthquake. 
  Some examples of threats that earthquakes cause are landslides, avalanches, fires, soil liquefaction, tsunamis, and floods. Usually earthquakes occur along the edges of oceanic or continental plates, however they can also happen far away from the edge of a plate, in faults or cracks in the earth's crust. In the US people think earthquakes only occur in areas like California and Alaska. Although earthquakes are typical in places like these, they can also happen in other areas of the country and they have. Earthquakes have the potential to occur in places that they don't usually happen in and they can affect Universities in areas that are not located in typical earthquake zones. Due to this unpredictable nature universities in all regions are working to have a response plan in place, just as a precaution. Several universities have been affected by earthquakes and the experiences can be viewed as examples of what to expect in a disaster like this.
  On November 5, 2011 Oklahoma was hit by a 5.6 magnitude intraplate earthquake. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that it was the most powerful earthquake to ever hit Oklahoma. The earthquake caused damage ranging from residential structural damage to buckled highways. There was also damage to local St. Gregory's University in Shawnee. Benedictine Hall, which is the central feature at the university and houses their administration offices, library, and most of their classes, was damaged by the disaster. Prior to the earthquake the historic building, which opened in 1915, had 4 turrets, however the shaking caused one to collapse completely and severely damaged the other 3. The damage to the building caused the university to close the Monday after the earthquake due to safety precautions. According to university officials, at the time they were unsure of where they would hold classes since the building would have to be closed until repairs could be made. The restoration of the building, which is equivalent to a 10-story building, would require a large crane for repairs. The 2011 Oklahoma earthquake provided an example of how an earthquake can affect a university campus and disrupt daily operations with no notice. Other universities are now able to use this event as an example when preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the unpredictable effects of natural disasters.
  Two universities that have experienced a lot of damage due to earthquakes are Stanford University and California State University in Northridge. Stanford University was first affected by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake which destroyed much of the original construction on campus. Two of the buildings most badly damaged by the 1906 earthquake were the Old Gymnasium and campus library, these two elaborate buildings had been damaged before they were occupied so Stanford officials decided to demolish them completely. In 1989 Stanford sustained further damage after the Loma Prieta earthquake, which caused them to permanently close the Old Chemistry Building which had been commissioned before the 1906 earthquake occurred. Many of the campuses historical buildings that had been damaged by both the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes. After the Loma Prieta earthquake Stanford implemented an expensive capital improvement plan to retrofit and renovate older buildings for new, up-to-date uses. On January 17, 1994 California State University at Northridge was also devastated after the Northridge earthquake. The epicenter of the destructive earthquake was only two miles away resulting in the campus suffering heavy damage to many build
caption: StanfordLibrary-1906: The library of Stanford University is reduced to ruins after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, 1906.
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