Residents of dilapidated buildings in Bucharest live in fear of an earthquake

Many seismologists believe that Bucharest is the capital of the European Union that is most at risk from earthquakes. With hundreds of old, fragile buildings suffering from decades of neglect, many residents of the Romanian capital live in fear for their lives.

Violetta and Asad Hussain have been trying to reinforce the structure of the building for 21 years. Business started but left incomplete. Bad experiences accumulate.

“One day there was an earthquake that was slightly larger than the other,” Violetta says. “It was during the night. The apartment owners on the fifth and sixth floors of this building – and those from the surrounding buildings – we all ran to the basement in our pajamas and gathered in the street below. This really … it really happened to us.”

Survival groups

Local authorities are distributing earthquake survival kits containing water, whistles, bandages, masks and radio.

The building was constructed in 1934 and is among the most endangered buildings in Bucharest. Located on the fault line, seismologists consider the city the capital of the European Union most at risk of earthquakes .. If an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or higher occurs, it is almost certain that these apartments will collapse, according to experts’ assessment.

Hundreds of similar high-risk buildings are dotted around the Romanian capital, and the online NGO Make Better, a development consultancy and planning NGO, has developed red dots that mark the most vulnerable sites.

Some are deserted. Others inhabit. They are all very dangerous.

“This is the oldest building with a red dot,” Bogdan says, explaining the map. “It dates back to the end of the nineteenth century. It was hit by many different earthquakes, in 1940 … 1977 … 1986 … 1990 … 1991 … and 1994 …”

Landlords and tenants feel increasingly insecure

From that list, the 1977 still brings shivers in Bucharest. Its strength was 7,2. About 1,600 people died. About 33,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Since then, very little complete structural consolidation work has been done.

“More than 8,000 people live in 317 buildings that have been identified as extremely dangerous,” Bogdan says. “So if there was an earthquake similar to the earthquake of March 4, 1977, the death toll could be anything from 8,000 up.”

As time passes, landlords and tenants are feeling increasingly anxious – and powerless. The costs of unification could run into billions of euros that one of Europe’s poorest countries cannot afford. Lack of resources. Bureaucratic delays, political infighting, allegations of corruption and complex legal issues make the situation stand still.

“At the moment, we do not have the necessary technical solutions to solve the problem,” Bogdan says. “We also do not have the required legal solutions, neither the money nor the public desire to push the rescue of these buildings and protect their owners and tenants for the sake of the public interest.”

The Ministry of Development refused our request to discuss these allegations.

In Bucharest Town Hall, Edmund Nikoloska, the newly appointed Director of High Risk Buildings Management, told us that they are actively discussing solutions with the government, the European Union and international banks. He says they’ve just started 15 new merger projects.

“For the first time, we started talking to the National Heritage Institute, the Technical University, with the Architects Syndicate, with experts and professionals with whom we can work on a strategy,” he says.

Consequence modeling

With no effective short-term solutions in sight, anxious eyes turn to the National Seismological Institute.

Experts here monitor seismic activity with real-time data from eight local observatories across the country. Nobody can predict when the next earthquake will hit Bucharest, director Konstantin UNESCO told us.

But they can design what the consequences might look like.

“We have a special program that assesses a specific earthquake,” he explains. “Each seismic station records the movement of the tremor at that point; from this we can estimate how strong an earthquake is felt in the city. This rate of ground acceleration is transmitted to the base of the buildings. Through these earthquake parameters, we can know exactly what the effects are on certain buildings.”

Prepare for the worst

Aware of Bucharest’s vulnerability, firefighters, first aid rescuers and volunteers are training to be ready. A non-governmental organization trains 20 dogs to find survivors under the rubble. The dogs have been running after the last earthquake in Albania and are on hand – if needed.

“Our concern is whether the volunteers themselves will be under the rubble,” says Vlad Popescu, dog trainer at Clubul Caini Utilitari. “This is the main thing that worries us. Otherwise, it will be another day in the field for them. For us, as coaches, volunteers and dealers, it will be a good challenge to keep our cohesion and be able to intervene. Because most of the things we see will be close to our hearts and we will be emotionally charged.” But we hope that we will be able to apply the training that we have done all these years. “

Preventive solutions

Another building in Bucharest shows that the worst-case scenario can be avoided and that preventive solutions are already in place. Severely damaged during the 1977 earthquake, it was completely reinforced with steel concrete – outside and inside the structure.

Each of the owners paid in proportion to the size of their apartment, with the bill reaching around 500 euros per square meter. Cristina Iordache purchased one of them once the merger was completed.

“Before buying the apartment, we did some tests,” she says. “We called a construction engineer who came and saw everything. We asked the consolidation company how it was done. We asked to see the papers. Then we decided to buy. And yes, we feel safe. Since we were living here, we have only seen one earthquake. And I didn’t feel that bad.”

It is an example that we hope will spread. Some experts estimate that more than a third of Romania’s 8.5 million housing units are in neglect.

Useful Links:

http://mkbt.ro/en/about/

https://www.pmb.ro/

https://www.mhtc.ro/national-institute-earth-physics/

Acasă

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