Department of Veterans Affairs
VHA DIRECTIVE 2005-019
Veterans Health Administration
Washington, DC 20420
May 19, 2005
SEISMIC SAFETY OF VHA BUILDINGS
1. PURPOSE: This Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Directive establishes policy
regarding the seismic safety of VHA buildings.
2. BACKGROUND
a. Since facilities identified as essential must remain in operation after a seismic event, the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is committed to providing adequate life-safety protection
to veterans, employees, and other building occupants.
b. VA has had an active seismic mitigation program since the 1971 California San Fernando
earthquake. This earthquake completely destroyed two occupied patient buildings killing 46
people. Since that tragedy, all VA buildings (approximately 1,000) located in medium and high
seismic zones have been screened. Approximately 40 percent of those buildings were found to
be at major risk, of which 35 percent have been strengthened, demolished, replaced, or such
work is underway.
c. Executive Order (E.O.) 12699, signed by the President on January 5, 1990, requires each
Federal agency responsible for the design and construction of new buildings to ensure that
buildings are designed and constructed in accordance with appropriate seismic design and
construction standards.
d. E.O. 12941, signed by the President on December 1, 1994, mandated the seismic safety of
existing federally-owned or leased buildings by adopting RP4, Standards of Seismic Safety of
Existing Federally-owned or leased buildings. These standards, developed by the Interagency
Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC), were adopted as the minimum level
acceptable for use by Federal departments and agencies in assessing the seismic safety of their
owned and leased buildings and in mitigating unacceptable seismic risk in those buildings.
e. In compliance with E.O. 12941, VA developed an inventory of its owned buildings
identifying their seismic risk. This data was reported to the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) in January 1999. Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs) 8, 19, 20, 21
and 22, with facilities located in high seismic zones, were identified as having exceptionally
high-risk (EHR) and high risk (HR) buildings. The Office of Facilities Management (FM)
transmitted this data to all affected VISNs and periodic updates are transmitted to VISNs.
NOTE: See Attachment A for definitions.
3. POLICY: It is VHA policy that all VHA facilities identified as essential must remain
operational after a seismic event.
THIS VHA DIRECTIVE EXPIRES MAY 31, 2010
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