Thirteen years ago last Friday, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the South Puget Sound Region. The 40-second earthquake caused about $1 – $4 billion in property damage. The cleanup effort was extensive as some businesses couldn’t reopen their doors for several weeks.
There were 450 lawmakers and staff working during the legislative session that year. Despite significant damage to the dome building that made it uninhabitable for two months, the Legislature was back to work within just a few days.
Thanks to some extraordinary efforts by legislative and general administration staff that would make MacGyver envious, we converted our two largest hearing rooms into floor chambers. House and Senate staff who normally worked in the Legislative building cozied up in the other structurally-safe buildings on campus. The quarters were tight, but we made it work.
We thought you might enjoy some photos showing the aftermath of the Nisqually earthquake.
Where you in Olympia during the earthquake? Tell us your story in the comments below.
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