Ninety percent of the businesses in the central Puget Sound region that responded to an online and telephone survey suffered damage or other adverse impacts from the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, according to a report prepared by University of Washington researchers for the departments of emergency management in Pierce and King counties.
It was basically a situation of a lot of businesses having small impacts and a very few getting clobbered, said William Beyers, a UW professor who studies economic geography.
He conducted the survey with colleague Stephanie Chang, a research assistant professor of geography who looks at the effects of natural disasters.
The research, funded by U.S. Economic Development Administration, also indicated that 25 percent of the businesses closed following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake, which rocked western Washington on Feb. 28, 2001.
The vast majority of business closings were for one day or less. However, four firms reported being closed for more than a week, principally because of transportation disruptions. Of these, one was shut down for eight weeks and a second was closed for 10 weeks.
The overwhelming number of the 175 respondents from King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties who completed the survey anonymously, identified themselves as small businesses, although one firm with 10,000 employees did participate. The survey did not attempt to put a dollar figure on quake-related business losses.
Beyers will report on his findings Nov. 19 at the North American Regional Science Meeting in Philadelphia.
In other earthquake-related news, scientists are reexamining earthquake planning and response in Puget Sound, after new evidence showed that an active fault line under Tacoma is much more extensive than previously thought.
The discovery may influence how new structures are being built – and reportedly has already been shared with engineers working on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
The fault line, which connects with the Seattle Fault, includes areas near Gig Harbor and Mason County, and is suspected to run for tens of miles across Puget Sound.
The U.S. Geological Survey plans to do more mapping in Pierce County in the upcoming months to study the line.
