One of the biggest questions when it comes to an earthquake is whether infrastructure would survive the “big one”.
S.F.U. geologist Brent Ward says apartment buildings with concrete or wood construction would likely withstand shaking, as would single-family homes.
But older buildings, like St. Paul’s Hospital, probably wouldn’t.
“There’s been a lot of talk about seismically trying to upgrade that because it’s brick construction. Brick construction does not do well in an earthquake. The bricks have no flex, and so they crack and crumble.”
Ward says more upgrades could be done even though there has been a lot of work lately on roads, bridges and emergency stations.
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