The consequences of a strong earthquake in Bucharest may be much greater than the authorities estimate. The audit report of experts of the Accounting Chamber from last year shows the possibility of a large-scale crisis in the capital in the event of an earthquake of the caliber of 1977 or stronger.

The official document notes the lack of interest of the authorities and all the failures in the earthquake risk management system.

First, the number of buildings at risk of collapse could be much higher, many hospitals could collapse, there are no blood and medicine supplies, there are not enough intervention forces, and although there is an early warning system that can protect critical infrastructure and cut off gas and electricity, e.g. , no one was interested. (Read the report HERE)

We don’t know exactly how many homes actually have problems

Although there is a list of buildings at risk in the event of an earthquake, it is not exhaustive. And this is because the inventory and accounting of existing buildings in the territory of the municipality of Bucharest has simply not been done until now.

“It was also found that there is no procedure regulating the procedure for entering buildings into the lists of buildings assigned to classes of seismic risk. In this sense, the record maintained by the Municipal Authority for the Association of Buildings at Seismic Risk (AMCCRS) is based on the documentation submitted by the beneficiaries of the buildings concerned, since there is no record of all buildings that are not technically expert from the point of view of seismic risk . Therefore, the list is not exhaustive. The consequences are serious, given that these buildings can threaten people’s lives and health in the event of an earthquake, even of moderate intensity,” the report says.

At the level of the Bucharest City Hall, the document states, an inventory of public and communal buildings in the capital, as well as their examination and classification by seismic risk classes, was not organized.

Every third hospital could be seriously damaged by a strong earthquake

A critical area at the level of the hospital has been identified. According to the document, a third of hospitals in Bucharest, run by the Ministry of Health or the municipality, could be seriously damaged by a strong earthquake. “This can have catastrophic consequences for the measures that must be taken by the authorities at the stage of response to an earthquake,” experts of the Accounting Chamber note.

Thus, out of 55 hospitals in Bucharest (managed by the Ministry of Health or the municipality), 20 hospitals are in the seismic risk zone, corresponding to 36%, that is, in other words, one out of three hospitals could be seriously affected by a strong earthquake.

Of these, 12 buildings have been assessed and classified as seismic risk class I. They belong to 6 hospitals/institutes and are in immediate danger of collapse in the event of an earthquake similar to the one that occurred in 1977.

Important deficiencies were also identified, which urgently require intervention in the metro network, bridges, footbridges, crossings, as well as hydrotechnical structures, the Lacul Morii dam, hydrotechnical structures on the Dambovitsa river bed.

“Accordingly, in the event of a strong earthquake, with an intensity of more than I = 8, MKS, for which the hydraulic structures were designed, there is a possibility of failure of the concrete and/or earth dams, which will lead to flooding up to Splaiul Unirii. area,” the document states.

Complete lack of interest in the early warning system

Although INFP has developed and tested a seismic early warning system for strong aftershocks, called REWS (Rapid Early Warning System), which can automatically act to stop or protect sources of danger 25 to 40 seconds before seismic waves will achieve a destructive effect on the infrastructure. for protection, the system was not implemented and utility providers were not interested in receiving notifications.

REWS can be used to protect targets vulnerable to earthquakes, such as: nuclear targets, oil refineries, dams, stopping dangerous technological processes (chemical reactions), sealing gases under pressure, ensuring the safety of hospitals, vehicles (trains, access bridges, passages etc). ), roads, buildings

civil and industrial, etc.

No data on resources that can be mobilized

The experts of the Accounting Chamber found that the preparation of available intervention resources (human and material resources) is insufficient to ensure the development of response actions in case of a strong earthquake.

“There is no centralized accounting of resources that can be mobilized in case of a strong earthquake there is a high probability that an earthquake in Bucharest will cause a crisis on a large scale“, the document states.

IGSU has insufficient personnel that can be mobilized for missions. In the event of a major earthquake, the number of IGSU personnel trained in search and rescue operations and specialized missions performed in the field of “response” to earthquake risk and related risks will be insufficient and will not be able to simultaneously provide emergency management, caused by an earthquake, as well as emergency situations that occur regularly, the cited source notes.

In addition, the ability to receive calls in the 112 system will not be able to be provided at an adequate level due to limited resources.

The main vulnerability in the Ministry of Health

The report identified an area of ​​great vulnerability in the Ministry of Health, where there is no capacity register, which contains information on the number of hospitals, by district, the number of beds, medical staff, equipment, drug stocks, blood, skin. etc.

Also, at the national level, there is no national bank of blood, plasma and stem cells, as well as a bank of skin (tissues and cells).

The Ministry of Health has limited supplies of medicines, sanitary materials and equipment needed to provide emergency medical care and does not have advanced medical facilities (mobile hospitals) to complement the intervention capabilities in the event of a major earthquake, when the number of victims is much higher. above

than the capacity of hospitals, the document of the Accounting Chamber shows.

Another serious problem is the acute shortage of personnel and means of intervention (ambulance).

There are no action plans to restore the previous normal state

The situation is also insufficient in the case of civil defense shelters.

Of the total number of 1,106, which are designed for 171,805 people, only 60% are working, the rest have problems with sanitary and technical, electrical and filter ventilation installations.

As for the restoration of the previous normal state, it was found that there are no action plans in this area at the level of the Ministry of Development, ISC and at the level of local authorities.

“MDLPA, through local state authorities, has the main role in ensuring the conditions for the restoration of the previous normal state during a state of emergency. The ISC, the Corps of Technical Experts and Professional Associations in the field of construction, local government bodies, through subordinate and/or coordinating structures, play a role in the rapid assessment of the stability of structures and the establishment of first emergency intervention measures for vulnerable structures that pose a public danger. danger. But, unfortunately, there is no strategy or vision or action plans at the level of state authorities to restore the previous normal state during an emergency caused by a strong earthquake,” the document also states.

The audit mission of the Accounting Chamber was carried out in the period from September 2017 to April 2021, mainly in the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) – Department of Emergency Situations (DSU) and was extended to the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration (MDLPA) as a body with a primary role in earthquake risk management, as well as 18 other entities that play a secondary or supporting role in the seismic risk management system, including capital city mayors and sector mayors.

Given the importance of the findings for the field of civil protection and the need to ensure decision-making and logistical support to eliminate deficiencies, the audit mission’s special recommendation is that the identified aspects be the subject of informing the Prime Minister. The Government of Romania, as president of the National Committee for Emergency Situations, says the report.