WB expert: Romania, one of the countries most exposed to earthquake risk in the EU

Romania is one of the countries most exposed to the risk of earthquakes in the European Union, and a possible repeat of the 1977 earthquake would cause economic damage in the order of tens of billions of euros, thousands of injured and hundreds of thousands of people without homes, said Allana Simpson, regional coordinator for disaster risk management in Europe and Central Asia at the World Bank.

“A repeat of the 1977 earthquake would be devastating, because more than 75% of the population (65% of the urban population) is in areas with high seismic risk, as well as 45% of critical transport services , energy, water supply and communications. Moreover, 60-75% of Romania’s fixed assets, which contribute 70-80% to the Gross Domestic Product, are located in seismic zones. Researchers and engineers estimate that a repeat of the 1977 earthquake could cause tens of billions of euros in economic damage, thousands more injured and possibly hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Romania is one of the countries most exposed to earthquake risk in the European Union, with hundreds of lives lost and tens of thousands of buildings damaged in earthquakes in the last 200 years. In each of the last five centuries, there were, on average, two earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 7 and five earthquakes after 1802 with a magnitude higher than 7.5“, Allana Simpson told Agerpres.

It is also expected that the damage to public buildings and infrastructure could be considerable and could be felt throughout the country, in that arc that starts in Iaşi, passes through Focşani, Bucharest and up to the southern border.

According to the WB  representative, investments in prevention and preparation are the most important steps that Romania must take in the current context. “Every citizen should know what to do in case of an earthquake, how to prepare their family with emergency kits and supplies and where to find out more information (Fiipregatit.ro platform). It is also important to know your community and identify the most vulnerable people who may need support, such as the elderly or people with disabilities”, the WB expert underlined.

In her opinion, local and national authorities must determine the infrastructure and buildings that are most exposed to risk and prioritize them for consolidation, in the direction of modernization, energy efficiency and other measures.

“Investments in emergency response capacity and safe buildings are a vital first step, in addition to raising public awareness. The World Bank currently has a portfolio in Romania in which it implements three projects with agencies subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior to support response capacity through investments in critical vulnerable buildings such as those where first aid is provided. Another project that was started last year, respectively “Safer, inclusive and sustainable schools”, implemented by the Ministry of Education, aims to modernize or reconstruct some of the most vulnerable schools in Romania.

The designs of the schools within this project will be made public and could be used as a model for other schools in Romania. You have now seen in Turkey how important the modernization and consolidation of this type of buildings are, given that the schools that were built as part of a project implemented by the World Bank in the areas affected by the earthquake were not affected and are now being used as shelters.” explained Allana Simpson.

The WB expert said that, unfortunately, there are also other EU countries exposed to earthquake risks, such as Italy, Greece, Bulgaria and these risks are due to the old buildings and infrastructure, which lack modern construction standards.