Washington has the second highest earthquake risk in the United States, and a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake — with a potential to reach a magnitude of 9.0 — is due to strike again.
As state leaders work to make our communities more resilient to major earthquakes, many have focused on improvements to public school buildings, especially along the coast where an earthquake-triggered tsunami could pose even more danger to schoolchildren.
“As a school district, we really do need to make some improvements,” Aberdeen School District Superintendent Alicia Henderson said.
The school district is working to make seismic upgrades to Stevens Elementary School. The school, attended by about 500 students, was built in 1954 and last renovated in 1976.
Henderson gave her report during a Results Washington meeting with Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this year that focused on seismic safety in Washington schools and other vulnerable buildings. More than 20 leaders and emergency preparedness experts from around the state attended the meeting.
Read the rest of the story on the governor's Medium page.