The Ministry of Development will launch a national premiere next week – the first map detailing the seismic risk for each locality in Romania, announced Minister Cseke Attila.
The map will be interactive and will help both residents to know in what kind of area they live, and local authorities to access funds for consolidations.
"There has never been a breakdown by localities, by territorial administrative units," the minister explained on Digi 24.
Approximately two-thirds of Romania's localities will have access to 100% funding from the state for the consolidation of buildings located in areas with seismic acceleration over 0.15 g.
The Ministry of Development offers several funding programs for the consolidation of public buildings, schools, hospitals, and residential blocks. To access the funds, property associations must contact the municipality for the seismic expertise of the building.
"I don't want to scare anyone, but I believe I'm not saying anything new - at some point, it will happen. What's important is to find us as prepared as possible," the minister warned. He reminded that "Bucharest is among the top ten capitals in the world in terms of seismic exposure."
Last year, the consolidation program had an execution of approximately 70 million lei, but the minister says that "the potential is much greater" and anticipates an increased budget for this year.