31.08.2023
ETEK approves the actions of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works and the Department of Public Works to announce a tender for the conduct of primary seismic surveys of buildings under the responsibility of the Department.
In his statement, ETEK President Konstantinos Konstantinis stressed that pre-seismic inspections of buildings are necessary to assess their seismic resistance and take the necessary measures to protect them from earthquakes. Therefore, this is the first necessary step to protect citizens and continue the operation of the country’s critical infrastructure in the event of an earthquake. At the same time, according to Mr. Konstantis , pre-seismic inspections of buildings are necessary to prioritize the necessary actions for optimal seismic risk management.
“The need to take measures to protect the building stock of Cyprus from earthquakes becomes more urgent when one considers that, although Cyprus is located in a seismic zone, a significant number of buildings in the country were built before the implementation of the first earthquake code (before 1994) or designed with less strict anti-seismic provisions than those established today by the Eurocodes (period 1994-2011). Therefore, if we want to avoid unpleasant situations, we should start assessing the seismic risk and therefore assessing the seismic vulnerability of these buildings, starting with public buildings and critical infrastructure facilities such as hospitals and fire departments,” explained the president of ETEK.
ETEK encourages other departments and state agencies to conduct pre-seismic reviews and assess the seismic suitability of buildings under their jurisdiction.
