Being exposed to active fault lines, and hence often getting jolted by quakes, including deadly ones such as in Thessaloniki and Athens, in 1978 and 1999 respectively, Greece seems to have given further impetus to its preparations against a possible strong earthquake.
Accordingly, in late February, the Greek government decided to inspect over 60,000 buildings, including schools, emergency gathering areas, and hospitals, to determine whether they are resilient to quakes and ways to strengthen them.
Speaking to Anadolu, civil engineer Chris Zeris explained that some 30,000 public buildings had previously been inspected.
Strong earthquakes that shook neighboring Türkiye last month have also let loose a wave of anxiety across the Aegean among residents and officials alike, said Zeris, who is a prominent expert in the field at the National Technical University of Athens.
This is why inspections of public buildings that have yet to be checked have now been put on the fast track, he added.
Chris Zeris, civil engineer
Still, more needs to be done, according to Zeris, who underlined that detailed inspections are also necessary for residential buildings, which are subject to much laxer construction codes.
While some municipalities, such as Heraklion in Crete, Volos in central mainland Greece, and the capital Athens, have conducted inspections of private buildings, the country needs a more organized, detailed, and nationwide survey of its building stock, he added.
Fortunately, he said, most Greek buildings, especially those built after 1985 when a stricter construction code was introduced, are in good condition as far as durability against seismic activity is concerned.
The older ones, which were built under looser regulations and with lower-quality materials, are the primary source of concern. For these, lenders need to provide loans to fund structural reinforcement, or to rebuild them all together, said Zeris.
“People stay in these older houses because they are poorer and can’t afford to move to new homes or to strengthen their own homes against the risk of earthquakes. So, what they need is loans with low-interest rates,” he said.
Also speaking to Anadolu, Thomas Salonikios, a senior civil engineer and researcher at the Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (ITSAK) in Thessaloniki, agreed with Zeris that buildings constructed before 1985 were at greater risk in the event of a powerful and long earthquake.
“Both old and new buildings have the same chance of being hit if an earthquake occurs, but the old ones are more vulnerable,” he explained.
Thomas Salonikis, senior civil engineer
Apart from the buildings, there is also a major issue with infrastructure, including power grids, water and sewage, road networks, and bridges, Salonikios stressed.
These are constantly under stress, even without quakes, and generally don’t get as much attention as public or residential buildings, he said, adding that any detailed inspection plan should include them.
Once damaged, it is much more time- and resource-consuming to repair such critical infrastructure, said the senior engineer, underlining that this was why action needed to be taken now to reinforce and preserve them before an earthquake strikes.
Source: Anadolu Agency