The next earthquake is coming. Is old Seattle worth saving?

It's been almost 25 years since the Nisqually earthquake, the last "big one" to hit Seattle. 

But the region is due for an even bigger one -- one that could be more massive than the underwater quake that just hit off the coast of Russia. 

The Nisqually quake did at least $2 billion worth of damage across the Puget Sound region. It hit Seattle’s historic brick and stone buildings hard, and the city has learned a lot of expensive lessons about what would make them safer. 

So... is old Seattle worth saving? And is there a way to do it that won’t bankrupt the owners, or the city?

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/boomingnotes. 

Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

Support the show: https://kuow.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.