ZAGREB, April 7, 2020 – The dean of Zagreb’s Civil Engineering Faculty, Stjepan Lakušić, on Tuesday said that all public buildings that were damaged in the recent earthquake in Zagreb need to be reconstructed to the level of complete seismic resistance.
Lakušić made the statement after a meeting of a task force working on a bill for the reconstruction of Zagreb and its environs which was formed by the Ministry of Construction and Physical Planning and which includes experts in the field and Minister Predrag Štromar.
Lakušić said that all public buildings like hospitals, schools and faculties have to be reconstructed to full seismic resistance standards.
Asked by reporters whether it was possible to install modern anti-earthquake systems in old buildings and how much more expensive that would be, Lakušić said that that is the ministry’s and the government’s main issue.
He underscored that in cooperation with other scientific institutions, the faculty is preparing guidelines on how to approach the reinforcement of buildings as well as calculate whether to reinforce a building or to apply other measures considering the price and cost-effectiveness.
“When selecting technology to reconstruct a building, cost is very important, as is whether it is possible at all to approach that type of reconstruction in some buildings and guarantee safety or whether other measures need to be taken with regard to reinforcement which could potentially require a lot more time to resolve the situation,” said Lakušić. He added that the problem of the stability of buildings needs to be resolved so that people who live in them are protected and safe in case of a similar earthquake.
He highlighted the importance of preserving the urban appearance of Zagreb, noting that urban reconstruction has to be controlled by professionals.
More earthquake news can be found in the Lifestyle section.
