Inside Story / Earthquakes in Albania, is seismic risk assessed for buildings?

The earthquake was seen as a static load and was taken in a certain proportion. So the constructions that were done before this year were done without seismic norms.

In 1954 the first technical norms were adopted which provided for the calculation towards the earthquake. The seismic hazard map was approved at that time. It was based on the level of knowledge of seismic forces that the whole world had at that time with very low coefficients.

For example in Tirana it was 0.05. A coefficient that today seems extremely very low and unacceptable. The earthquake of April 15, 1978, with its epicenter in Ulcinj caused severe damage in Shkodra and Lezha. The state decided to change the seismic design norm and created the new seismic hazard map which culminated in 1989 with the approval of the new Albanian anti-seismic technical condition. Basically what changed for the better was the increase in seismic strength compared to the previous condition. The seismic force was doubled increasing the safety of the works. The state took more risk to withstand greater forces in an engineering structure.
“The latter have not been a complete update of the technical conditions of design or implementation. But we have not been behind countries in updating rates based on seismic events and time developments. Passing into the 90s in terms of security little has changed. What has changed is the construction typology. After ’90, the construction of buildings with reinforced concrete entered the mass and on the other hand, the market was liberalized “said Markel Baballëku, Faculty of Civil Engineering

“In terms of construction safety, not much has been done. Engineers have taken personal measures how much they have been required by law since the codes date back to 1989. There have been attempts by various professors to implement Eurocodes, but I do not know why they have failed. The safety of the facilities is guaranteed by the level of personal responsibility of the engineers and builders “said Arnel Çela, architect

Currently Eurocodes are not officially approved in Albania and therefore are not required to be used. If they were used, they would significantly increase the level of safety of engineering facilities. But, this means that also the costs of facilities and prices in the market would increase.
“After the 90s, since we are a country that aspires to enter the EU, some designers, but not the state, sought to introduce new design norms. “Even the builders’ association has been one of those who asked for the introduction of European norms, Eurocodes in Albania. Which are unified European codes that make to calculate the structures, are better and give a higher level of security. Until 2000 it was worked with our norms, but there was an innovation that for all constructions the seismic study of the land was introduced because before only the map was used. After 2000, as a result of the greater recognition and opening of Albania, some serious designers adapted the norms of the Eurocode “said Arben Dervishaj, Association of Builders of Albania.

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