Freestanding cell towers now need to withstand an earthquake and keep working
Los Angeles city leaders last week took steps to ensure that area cell towers are prepared to not only stand in the event of a major earthquake but also continue working after a quake.
The Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted 11-0 to require future cell towers to be built to the same seismic protection standards as public safety buildings like police and fire departments, or designated emergency shelters.
Based on the current building standards, cell towers need to be constructed to remain standing through an earthquake but there’s no requirement the towers stay functioning.
The new rules don’t apply to cell towers that are already built.
In a background report, city officials wrote that cell towers are an “integral part of our society.”
Councilman Bob Blumenfield said, “Communications are paramount when the next disaster strikes, and we know it’s not if, it’s when,” according to the local NBC affiliate.
He continued: “Our communications safety facilities are just as important as our public safety facilities. In the event of a disaster they are our public safety facilities.”
He said the cost to tower builders required to comply with the new standards would be “marginal.”
City research indicate that the majority of cell towers in LA are attached to buildings and not freestanding; the new rules only apply to freestanding towers.
Blumenfield said the cell towers attached to buildings would be considered separately.
LA is the first city in the nation to take steps to protect cell towers, according to a CBS report.
“It’s super important,” Blumenfield told CBS. “We know that communication is essential for recovery and for resiliency.”
“Back in ‘94 when we had the Northridge earthquake, cellphones were just beginning. Now a lot of people have cut their land lines loose and their only means of communications are cellphones.”
The Northridge earthquake hit on Jan. 17, 1994, and measured a 6.7 on the Richter Scale of earthquake intensity. The quake killed 57 people, injured more than 5,000 and caused an estimated $20 billion in property damage.
