Inside Story / Albania seismic hotspot but constructions are realized with the old protocols of communism

“The technical conditions must be changed. In every area are changed in construction no. Microseismic study. They started in the 80s after the 1979 earthquake in Montenegro. These studies were done in an optics when some exceeded and relative parameters were used. They are valuable but need to be expanded. These cities have been small and now have increased 5 times. In Golem, the marshes, the Durrës beach and the Vlora lungs have not been made. Collaborations with small funds we have conducted micro-seismic studies in Berat. Pilot studies. In each city we have determined the different behavior of the earth to the earthquake and where they are most dangerous’ said the professor, Klodian Skrame

Further, studies will have to proceed with measuring the fragility of buildings whether they withstand another earthquake or not. The third stage is then the emergency plan so that in the next strike there is readiness to know where and how to intervene. Geologists and engineers say there is a lack of infrastructure for scientific and technical studies. Even state laboratories are very poor.

“From the point of view of reading today’s facts after the earthquake, I would say that in the outline there are traces that the rules have not been fully applied in the implementation of acts. At each stage can be found genuine elements of violation of the technical conditions of design and implementation. Most buildings have code magic. The rules set in the technical conditions have not been applied in practice “said Markel Baballëku, Faculty of Civil Engineering” If we do an analysis, unsafe facilities were those who had no owners, were facilities in informal areas where facilities were built without design out of ignorance or impossibility, the high godiant had less damage, the low and informal ones had more problems. Also the buildings that were designed with small seismic forces and with old conditions such as the case of the plant, Thumana, etc. A more detailed analysis is difficult to do because there are two things: one was poor projects, the other was poor implementation. Next were the interventions in buildings made by people “said Arben Dervishaj, Albanian Builders Association

The earthquake showed an irresponsibility of the implementation of construction protocols in the anti-seismic aspect. Moreover, the existing technical condition was not implemented, despite the immediate need to change and adapt to new developments.

“In terms of urban and architectural, we learned that some buildings that have different geometric shapes have been separated into different parts, some technical standards that have not been implemented. Even for the fact that technical standards are not a norm. In the urban aspect he told us that when the earthquake hits Tirana we have nowhere to go. We all saw him coming down from the palace and we were not sure if any object fell. The earthquake showed us all the disorganization, whether legislative, professional or government for the management of such situations “said the architect, Arnel Çela

If governments were more responsible, more serious in managing construction, issuing permits with strict criteria, and controlling engineering works, many serious events with consequences for the people would have been avoided. Institutional irresponsibility and greed for constructions without any seismic safety criteria were at the root of the tragic magnitude of the November 26, 2019 earthquake.

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