Newport School Quake Safety Investigated

If the Big One hits, are Newport Beach schools safe?

That question that will likely be on the minds of parents reading the results of a 19-month California Watch investigation released Thursday. The series, which will be published in various media outlets over the next few days, uncovered holes in the state's enforcement of seismic safety regulations for public schools.

In collaboration with California Watch, Patch has been digging through a maze of documents and interviewing officials to gauge the safety of Newport Beach schools. 

California began regulating school architecture for quake safety in 1933 with the Field Act, but data taken from the Division of the State Architect’s office shows 20,000 school projects statewide never got final safety certifications. In the crunch to get schools built within the last few decades, state architects have been lax on enforcement, California Watch reported. 

A separate inventory completed nine years ago found 7,500 seismically risky school buildings in the state. 

Newport Schools in Good Shape

Where do Newport schools stand? The state grades school construction projects using a four-letter rating system for compliance with quake regulations. Letter 4 is the lowest score; Letter 1 is the best.

Local campuses are generally in pretty good shape. Three schools with structures that had been listed as seismically risky or in need of structural evaluation—Anderson Elementary, and —have all been modernized in recent years and certified with Letter 1 safety ratings, according to documents from the Division of the State Architect.

Even if a school’s construction is sound, it could face other hazards. California Watch created an interactive map showing school locations in relation to earthquake faults, landslide areas and liquefaction zones. (In liquefaction, soil can turn to mush during strong tremors, shaking buildings more violently.)

Here is a list of Newport Beach schools that, according to California Watch research, might have some reason for concern:

• is within a quarter-mile of a liquefaction zone.
• Corona del Mar High School scores a triple bonus. It's within a quarter-mile of a landslide zone, a liquefaction zone and a U.S. Geological Survey fault line.
• is within a quarter-mile of a liquefaction zone and a landslide zone.
• is within a quarter-mile of a landslide zone.
• Newport Coast Elementary is within a quarter-mile of a liquefaction zone and a landslide zone.
• Anderson Elementary is within a quarter-mile of both a U.S. Geological Survey fault line and a landslide zone.

(Note: Corona del Mar schools were evaluated separately. for information on CdM campuses.)

However, being near geological hazards doesn’t necessarily mean a school building would fall apart in a quake. Because local school district officials and builders can be criminally prosecuted if students or staff are injured by tremor damage at an uncertified campus, they hire their own inspectors and generally are careful not to open any structure that isn’t deemed up to snuff, said Eric Lamoureux, a spokesman for the Division of the State Architect. 

If you would like to get involved in this story and find out who to contact with your questions, click here. The page includes tips on preparedness, a list of frequently asked questions and a parents' preparedness checklist.

This story was produced using data provided to Patch by California Watch, the state's largest investigative reporting team and part of the Center for Investigative Reporting. Read more about with California Watch.