The new Loma Linda University Medical Center will be the first healthcare facility in the country engineered to bob up and down during an earthquake, according to an article on The San Bernardino Sun website.
The base of the new California hospital will “float” on 126 steel structures, with attached springs and specialized steel plates that allow it rock from side-to-side, as well as thrust upward, in the event of a powerful earthquake.
The structure will be able to slice 82 inches from side to side and thrust up and down eight inches as it rides out a powerful earthquake.
The earthquake protection devices are being installed in a pit 40 feet below the surface on the south side of the building, and 30 feet below the surface on the north side, White said.
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