How a BYU professor is studying recent quakes to help prepare Utah for when the big one hits

PROVO — Kevin Franke has visited a half-dozen major earthquake sites worldwide in as many years, studying recovery and rebuilding in the devastated areas and projecting how ground waves, soils and structures are intertwined when it comes to a quake's impact.
The Brigham Young University civil and environmental engineering professor hopes improved engineering codes and standards, based on understanding a quake's hazards, in turn help increase safety and save lives.
"Even the type of soil th