Unreinforced Masonry

Unreinforced Masonry Buildings in Utah

Utah Division of Emergency Management (DEM), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 8, and local partners have engaged in a multi-year effort to reduce the number of unreinforced masonry (URM) buildings in Utah. Our goal is to help the public understand their earthquake risk and the steps necessary to prepare and protect themselves, their family and their property.

What is a URM?

A URM building has brick walls with few or no steel reinforcing bars. During an earthquake, URM buildings are more likely than modern structures to collapse, both inward and outward, and crumble on top of people, cars, sidewalks or structures in and around them. URM buildings are typically older structures. In the 1970s, building codes in Utah were updated to outlaw the construction of new URM buildings.

There are ways to check if a building might be constructed of URM by looking at the building’s exterior.

Bricks are not laid uniformly. If there are rows of bricks turned endways (you can see their end as opposed to their side) every five to six rows, it may be a URM structure. This design was a way to provide additional strength to a URM building before steel reinforcing was required. If every row of bricks looks the same, it may be reinforced.

Windows are deeply recessed. Recessed windows sit in an alcove of sorts, set within the wall. This design is more typical of URM construction.

There are rows of bolts or rosettes. Rows of bolt heads on the exterior wall are typical of URM construction.

None of these features alone guarantee that a building is constructed of URM, but they are good signs to spot potential URM buildings.

The Utah State Historic Preservation Office can assist homeowners and communities with the seismic retrofit and repair of historic buildings through Federal and State Historic Tax Credit programs, grants provided under the Certified Local Government program, and the professional technical assistance of their Historical Architect. Preservation Utah also helps find resources to preserve old buildings and homes through a variety of loans and grants. The Salt Lake City Fix the Bricks program provides assistance to Salt Lake City homeowners with the costs of seismic structural improvements to their unreinforced masonry homes.

Mitigation Efforts

Utah Division of Emergency Management (DEM), alongside our partners, is working to raise awareness of known or potential URM school buildings, the risks the buildings pose, and pathways towards reinforcing or replacing them. As a part of this effort, a statewide inventory of K-12 public school buildings was recently completed in order to identify those that consist of URM. The findings of that inventory are found in this report.

Click Here to Download Report

This effort is a continuation of the “Wasatch Front Unreinforced Masonry Risk Reduction Strategy,” released by Utah DEM, the Utah Seismic Safety Commission, the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program and FEMA in March 2021. This document provides guidance to Utah communities on how to identify their own risk and take steps to address it. A key recommendation made within the strategy includes the development of an Unreinforced Masonry School Risk Reduction Program.
Read the full strategy here.

Visit Be Ready Utah for information on how you as an individual can prepare for earthquakes at home.

For More Information

It is our responsibility as community members to be aware of the earthquake risk in our region so we can protect ourselves and our loved ones. For more preparedness information on earthquakes in Utah, download any of the following documents on the threat posed by earthquakes in the state and ways to prepare and recover.

Utah K-12 Public Schools Unreinforced Masonry Inventory

Click Here to Download

Wasatch Front Unreinforced Masonry Risk Reduction Strategy

Click Here to Download

The Utah Guide for the Seismic Improvement of Unreinforced Masonry Dwellings

Click Here to Download

Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country

Click Here to Download

Echando Raíces en Tierra de Terremotos
(Spanish version)

Click Here to Download

Bracing for the Big One

Click Here to Download

Frequently Asked Questions

Unreinforced Masonry (URM)

▸What is an unreinforced masonry (URM) building?

A URM building has brick walls with few or no steel reinforcing bars. During an earthquake, URM buildings are more likely than modern structures to collapse, both inward and outward, and crumble on top of people, cars, sidewalks or structures in and around them. In the 1970s, building codes in Utah were updated to outlaw the construction of new URM buildings. However, thousands of these structures remain, including some schools.

▸How do I know if my school building is constructed of URM?

The Utah K-12 Public Schools Unreinforced Masonry Preliminary Inventory lists all K-12 public schools in Utah as of November 2021 that are constructed of URM. The inventory also identifies certain types of non-URM schools that are still vulnerable to earthquake damage because of their current construction. This inventory does not include private, pre-K, charter schools or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seminary buildings.

▸Who created the Utah K-12 Public Schools URM Inventory and why?

The inventory is the result of a partnership effort between Utah DEM and FEMA Region 8. It builds upon a multi-year effort by the two organizations and local partners to reduce the state’s URM structures. This work began with the Utah URM Summit in 2019 and is on-going.

The inventory exists to empower school officials, students, parents and the public to be prepared and understand your earthquake risk. It will also help you stay informed of the opportunities to mitigate that risk. Although we cannot control seismic hazard in our communities, we can influence the most important factor in saving lives and reducing losses: reinforced and up-to-code buildings. In this case, we are increasing the safety of our schools to protect students and faculty.

To identify at-risk school buildings in the state and make them more resilient during an earthquake, Utah DEM and FEMA Region 8 formed a working group that evaluated school buildings to help the state and public prioritize areas of risk.

The study identified school buildings that are constructed of URM, as well as buildings that are not constructed of URM but are still at a heightened risk. The inventory is part of the working group’s larger effort to educate the public and ultimately reduce the number of all URM buildings, including schools, commercial offices, government buildings and more.

▸Why is it a priority to identify URM schools?

On March 18, 2020, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake in Magna rattled the greater Salt Lake City area. Approximately 55,000 people lost power, nearly 150 historic buildings were damaged, and the trumpet of the angel Moroni fell off the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple. The Magna earthquake reinvigorated efforts to identify and advance resiliency plans in Utah, specifically along the Wasatch Front where communities are most vulnerable.

To jump-start actions to make Utah schools sturdier and safer for the people who spend time there, Utah DEM initiated an extensive research project to analyze the earthquake damage risk factors of school buildings in the state, resulting in the Utah K-12 Public Schools Unreinforced Masonry Preliminary Inventory

▸How likely is an earthquake in my area? What is the potential impact for a URM?

With more than 200 known active faults, Utah is a seismically active state. Naturally, some areas have a greater risk of higher-magnitude earthquakes than others. The Wasatch fault, which extends along the Wasatch Front, is Utah’s most active and hazardous fault.

The Wasatch Front has the potential to be affected by a strong, magnitude 7-7.5 earthquake. Also, many buildings in this region were built before the 1970s, when construction of new URM buildings was prohibited. The combination of these two factors could lead to massive damage during a significant seismic event. Most importantly, this situation puts the safety of those in and around URM buildings at risk.

Those of us who live in areas affected by natural disasters have a responsibility to understand our risk and the steps we can take to lessen it.

▸My school building wasn't damaged by the Magna earthquake in 2020. How urgent is the risk now?

The 2020 Magna event was a magnitude 5.7 earthquake. Though it had the potential to cause severe damage, it was considered a moderate event. The Wasatch Front could experience a magnitude 7-7.5 earthquake. If a major earthquake of that size occurs on a central part of the Wasatch fault, Utah should expect potential loss of life and damage costs to exceed billions of dollars in certain counties. URM buildings, because they are particularly vulnerable to ground shaking, are expected to account for 75% of building losses in the event of a magnitude 7-7.5 earthquake. Ground failures, a consequence of shaking that affects the stability of the ground, can lead to major disruption of lifelines (utilities, water, sewer), transportation systems (highways, bridges, airports, railways), and communication systems.

Structures that were not damaged in the 2020 Magna earthquake may still be in great risk during another seismic event. URM buildings are a problem nationwide, and Utah’s 200+ known active faults increase that risk. Utah DEM began its URM initiative prior to the 2020 Magna event; the event underscored the importance of the working group’s efforts.

▸What earthquake safety resources are available for parents and the community?

▸What steps can I take now to help protect myself and my family during an earthquake?

At home, you can take actions now to keep yourself and your family safer during an earthquake. Some key actions you can take today include securing heavy objects that have the potential to fall to the floor—pictures, potted plants, furniture, etc. Collect and store key emergency supplies, including water, food, a flashlight, portable radio, medicines and more. Develop a disaster preparedness plan with your family, friends and/or neighbors. Visit Be Ready Utah for more information on how to prepare for an earthquake at home.

At school, administrators can educate staff and faculty on earthquake risk and protocol, hold earthquake drills, and regularly review and update their emergency operations plan. Visit Be Ready Utah’s Be Ready Schools for more information.