Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan: 18. Risk Assessment

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Chapter 18:Risk Assessment For the Kona Hospital, the study found that the Kona Hospital has several structural features reminiscent of the Olive View Hospital in California that contributed to its severe damage and partial collapse in the 1971 San Fernando Earthquake. These features of the Kona Hospital include: discontinuous shear wall along the west side which creates a partial soft story effect; irregular layout of shear walls at the ground floor which may lead to significant torsional response of the building; and the lack of adequate shear reinforcing bars in the columns where they are restrained by the concrete slab-on-grade that may lead to brittle failure of these columns. A structural engineer conducted a post-Kiholo Bay assessment to evaluate the safety of the facility and assured hospital personnel that the building was operable. This was followed by a more detailed review of seismic adequacy, preformed by the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation. 18.1.7 Hawaii County All Hazard Assessment of Critical Facilities This project consisted of conducting an all-hazard rapid visual screening (RVS) of approximately 70 to 80 critical facilities in the County of Hawaii,including: • emergency operations center • 10 fire stations • 13 ambulance facilities • 10 police stations • 6 hospitals and clinics • Hilo and Kona airport facilities The project engineering team lead by the University of Hawaii conducted an all-hazard rapid visual screening of critical facility buildings in the County of Hawaii. FEMA 154 procedures were followed for the seismic evaluation, while similar procedures developed by Martin & Chock, Inc., for SCD were used for hurricane evaluation. A HAZUS MH risk assessment model has been used to evaluate the expected losses for each building due to earthquake, hurricane and flooding, using features determined from examination of the original construction plans and the site visits. Complete vulnerability rankings lists of all facilities studied are included in Table 18-2 through Table 18-4. Two facility groups that ranked worst based on the site observations and HAZUS analysis were designated for more detailed Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) evaluation and development of recommended mitigation procedures. This detailed evaluation provided the information necessary to submit a PDM grant applications for the most needed retrofit project, and prioritize the most vulnerable critical facility buildings for future retrofits. The vulnerability of a building can be measured by economic loss or by loss of functionality related to the extent of damage. Both of these risk measures for earthquake and hurricane hazards were analyzed at an equivalent level of probability, so that an "apples to apples" comparison of effects for each building was possible. Both of these risk measures were analyzed for earthquake and hurricane hazards at an equivalent level of probability (750- to 1000 year RP). 18-12 Hawaii County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan