Five years ago, Culpeper County, Va., experienced a 5.8 magnitude quake — the Mineral Earthquake — felt by tens of millions of people along the East Coast. Structural damage in old town Culpeper was especially severe. Five years later, lessons have been learned and memories of that shaky day remain intact.
There's still a hole on Main St. where the circa-1870 Levy building once stood. The old building was dramatically cracked up its side in the quake, and condemned by Culpeper building officials as unsafe before being demolished days later. Other Culpeper buildings damaged in the quake included the town's oldest church at St. Stephen's Episcopal that survived the Civil War, and the circa 1757 estate at Salubria. Both have since been repaired, but not without substantial restoration and expense. FEMA approved nearly $40 million in disaster aid for Virginia counties damaged in the earthquake, including Culpeper, where preliminary damage amounts totaled more than $6.5 million.
Culpeper County Building Official Bob Orr, the last word on condemning the Levy Building, said that, since the earthquake, he has attended training by the International Code Council focusing on disaster evaluation of structures. "We are in the process of the implementation of new software for the building and zoning departments," he said. "This product includes a module that tracks damaged properties and generates FEMA reports, which helps save time as this documentation is time-critical."
United States Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) was in a vehicle on his way to Culpeper and didn't feel the earthquake, but experienced the immediate aftermath. "While that day was definitely a memorable one for me and many other people, it's certainly not one any of us are eager to repeat," Warner said. "It's another reminder that we must do all we can to ensure the resiliency of our buildings, bridges, roads and tunnels against natural disasters."
Retired Culpeper Town Construction Engineer Hank Milans helped inspect the Levy Building — as well as inspecting buildings all over town — though he admitted that he was hesitant to enter the heavily-damaged structure. "We knew it was an earthquake right off the bat. It sounded like the sonic boom of a jet," Milans said. "Town hall is a steel structure building and it shook pretty good."
Excerpts of this article are from: Fredericksburg.com | Aug. 23, 2016 |
