UBC buildings at risk during earthquake, report says

Some of the busiest buildings on the University of British Columbia's Vancouver campus are at high risk of collapsing during an earthquake, which could result in loss of life, according to a report conducted by an engineering firm.

Of the 49 campus buildings assessed by JM Engineering and Glotman-Simpson Consulting Engineers, 28 were identified as very high risk, 12 as high risk and seven as moderate risk.

More than 51,000 students, and 14,000 staff and faculty, attend UBC's Point Grey campus, which is the largest in the province. 

Some of the highest-risk buildings, the report says would likely collapse in case of an earthquake include:

• Medical Sciences Block C
• International House
• Music building
• MacMillan building

View a map of the buildings and the assessment of their seismic risk.

The report was commissioned in 2012, but was only recently revealed to the public when campus newspaper The Ubyssey filed a Freedom of Information request, which it did after seeing a reference to the document in a letter from former UBC President Stephen Toope to Premier Christy Clark.

Some of the upgrades are under construction, while others are part of the university's long-term capital plan. The upgrades are expected to cost millions of dollars. 

​University officials say nearly $1 billion has already been spent, and they will get to the ones in need as soon as possible.

"The goal of the university is to ensure the safety of our faculty, staff and students and I think we've done a good job of ensuring that through the upgrades that we've done, through the work we're doing now and through the plan we have moving forward," said John Metras, UBC's managing director of infrastructure development. 

One problem, they say, is where to put students while repairs are underway. 

Meanwhile, university officials say they're focused on raising awareness of earthquake safety measures like drop, cover and hold and on telling students living in residence to keep 72-hour earthquake kits on hand.

Experts at UBC's Earthquake Engineering Research Facility said, overall, the campus has a good chance of doing well in a quake, although even one building collapsing would be one too many.

They also said labelling buildings as high risk isn't advisable, because it implies buildings without warnings are safe despite it being almost impossible to predict the duration and magnitude of a potential earthquake.