Naslov
Earthquake Risk Mitigation Strategies in Croatia: Proposal of Future Activities Considering Experiences from Recent Earthquakes in Albania

Autori
Šavor Novak, Marta ; Atalić, Josip ; Uroš, Mario ; Demšić, Marija

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Izvornik
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DURRËS EARTHQUAKES AND EUROCODES / - Tirana, 2020, 1-3

Skup
International Symposium on Durrës Earthquakes and Eurocodes (ISDEE 2020)

Mjesto i datum
Tirana, Albanija, 21.09.2020. - 22.09.2020

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
seismic risk awareness ; seismic risk reduction activities ; inventory of buildings ; vulnerability ; earthquakes in Albania

Sažetak
Recent earthquakes in Albania have demonstrated once again that South-eastern Europe is a very earthquake-prone region. Strong earthquakes have occurred in the past, resulting in many casualties and significant destruction of the built environment, and will occur again. Croatia belongs to this region, with almost 30 % of its territory and 60 % of its population exposed to moderate/high seismic hazard. According to the national seismic hazard map, the highest peak ground acceleration on bedrock may be expected in the southern part of the country, reaching 0.38 g, but the capital city Zagreb and some other important urban centers are also located in seismically active zones. As well as in most of the region, building stock in Croatia is aged and usually not well-maintained, including massive illegal construction and undocumented reconstructions. More than 22% of all the habitable dwellings were built before any seismic regulations were officially issued in the region (in 1964 after disastrous Skopje earthquake) and additional 41 % before 1981 when a new code was published. Information on building inventory is very limited, as national census data comprise only general data on dwellings, such as the date of construction, the occupancy class, the number of dwellings and the average number of people per dwelling, whereas data on buildings are not available. Despite the lack of more reliable input data on exposure and vulnerability of the assets at risk, the general insight into the situation may be obtained, and existing seismic risk assessments for the country have shown that seismic risk in Croatia is very high with potentially disastrous consequences and unacceptable in relation to the country’s financial capacities. However, national authorities still ignore this fact and organized mitigation activities barely exist. The main problem is that the public awareness about this problem is very low. The situation briefly changed after the devastating events in Albania in 2019, when the citizens showed great empathy for the Albanian tragedy, but the attention turned very quickly to other problems in the country, such as poor economy, absence of work opportunities and incompetent authorities, all resulting in heavy depopulation. The question that arises is what is the strategy in these countries that are exposed to high seismic risk, and do not have disaster response capacities nor financial ones to implement systematic reduction measures and to deal with potentially heavy consequences of an earthquake? Therefore, the aim of this paper is to discuss potential earthquake risk reduction activities in Croatia, which may be related to many countries in the region facing similar situation. An example of Italy, the country that has been investing significant funds in seismic prevention in the last decades, initiated mostly after many disastrous events occurred, may be used as a good example, but the application of implemented measures is questionable in the less developed and poorer countries in the region. A comparison between situation in Croatia and Albania is given, based on experiences gained by Croatian team that was involved in the post-earthquake damage assessment process in Durres municipality in December 2019, and recommendations for further strategic actions have been suggested.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Građevinarstvo, Temeljne tehničke znanosti

POVEZANOST RADA