Dilapidated buildings are causing stress in earthquake-prone Cyprus

An abandoned building owned by Turkish Cypriots, and the inner walls are no longer there and overgrown with plants, in Nicosia, the last divided capital in the world. Photo: AFP / Amir Makar.

On the divided island of Cyprus by the Mediterranean, where abandoned and dilapidated buildings are reminiscent of crisis and conflict, recent seismic activity has alarmed residents.

A powerful earthquake in the Aegean Sea destroyed buildings in neighboring Turkey and Greece in late October, killing more than 100 people.

Another earthquake this month, with its epicenter 130 km (80 miles) north of the island, shook until it shook the inland capital Nicosia, the last divided European capital.

The Cypriots began to sound the alarm.

“Seriously damaged homes pose a threat to public safety, especially in the event of an earthquake,” said Andreas Theodoto, President of the Cyprus Civil Engineers Association.

“Our main concern is the stock of old buildings that were built before the implementation of the Cyprus Seismic Act in 1994 … a large majority,” he said.

More than 70% of buildings precede seismic building standards, according to a 2018 Civil Defense report, and more than half of the stone structures can be lost in a major earthquake.

Traditional stone buildings, dull wooden shutters and sometimes bullet-holes walls dot the landscape of Cyprus, along with more modern buildings.

History of tremors

Countless factors have resulted in the deterioration of buildings across the island.

In 1974, Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of Cyprus in response to an Athens-sponsored coup seeking to annex the island to Greece.

The Turkish Cypriots fled to the north, which is now the separate Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Ankara recognized, and the Greek Cypriots further south.

The UN-sponsored settlement negotiations last collapsed in 2017 and many buildings remain empty.

Family disputes over inheritance, preferences for more modern homes, and the 2013 economic crisis in Cyprus have led to an abundance of poorly maintained or dilapidated buildings.

Silvana Pelido, who works for the State Geological Survey, said Cyprus “lies within the seismic zone in the Alps and the Himalayas, where about 15% of global earthquakes occur.”

She added that “historical references and archaeological discoveries reveal strong earthquakes that struck Cyprus in the past and destroyed its cities on several occasions.”

A twin earthquake in 1953 killed scores, destroyed 1,600 homes and severely damaged 10,000 buildings.

Lack of maintenance

Savas Luka, a butcher in the ancient city of Nicosia, where Venetian walls, Ottoman buildings and modern architecture reflect the island’s history, is among those involved.

Last year, a building facing its store collapsed after torrential rain.

“My building is also not in good condition anymore,” he said.

Also in the Old City, the architect Savas Christofides said that the authorities intervened this year to save the walls of a neighboring house, the abandoned home of Turkish Cypriots living to the north.

Christofides said the roof and interior of the house, whose double front doors lead to a garden with a single palm, has already collapsed.

More than 6,350 homes have been classified as protected cultural heritage, according to official figures for 2018.

But the ancient city is not alone in danger.

“Coastal cities … are in a higher seismic zone,” said Platonas Styliano, Secretary General of the Cyprus Chamber of Science and Technology.

However, he warned that all dilapidated, old and abandoned buildings across Cyprus are at risk and could face “significant damage or even collapse during a major earthquake.”

As the new buildings incorporate European seismic standards, Stylianou lamented the “lack of culture” of regular maintenance.

“It seems that the measures are only implemented when the buildings are declared to be a danger to public safety or close to this stage.”

Stavroula Thravallo, a specialist in architecture and heritage preservation at the University of Cyprus, said incentives such as tax cuts to conduct building maintenance are not enough.

“We have to go further, through a strategy of reuse and revitalization of buildings and abandoned neighborhoods if we want to restore links with residents,” she said. CC

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