Earthquake damages Juvenile Court Services building in KCK

An earthquake on Sept. 3 has damaged the exterior of the Juvenile Court Services building in Kansas City, Kan., according to a Unified Government spokesman.

Edwin Birch, UG spokesman, said the earthquake that was centered near Pawnee, Okla., about 7:02 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, and felt in Kansas City, Kan., had damaged the outside of the former federal court building, now used by the UG for juvenile court services.

The earthquake reportedly was felt in seven states. The earthquake was upgraded to a 5.8 magnitude recently by the U.S. Geologic Survey.

A structural engineer was looking at the building today and earlier this week to determine how severe the damage was, Birch said.

The engineer believes the building is safe, without damage to the interior part of the building, he said. Apparently, just the exterior part has been damaged. There is a crack from top to bottom on the brick exterior of the building, the side facing the county courthouse, he added.

There will probably be some repair needed on that side of the building, he said. No dollar amount of damage has been released.

The UG inspected other public buildings but did not see any damage, he said.