Every day, a large number of weak earthquakes occur around the world as a result of movement in the earth’s plates. Earthquakes can be of tectonic origin, occurring as a result of sudden breaks in the earth’s crust. Less often, they result from volcanic or even human activity like mining. Stronger earthquakes lead to severe natural disasters with fatal consequences. For example, the 2011 earthquake in Haiti caused nearly 200,000 deaths, and the 2016 earthquake in neighboring Italy completely destroyed the city of Amatrice. The strongest earthquake recorded in Slovenia was 1511 in Idrija, which caused death for tens of thousands of people. Recently, the earthquake in Petrinje, Croatia, was another reminder of the great danger of this natural disaster.

InnoRenew CoE researchers, led by Dr Iztok Šušteršič, in the Sustainable Building with Renewable Materials research group are dedicated to exploring the topics of earthquake safety for buildings, seismic rehabilitation of buildings and design of integrated construction solutions. Slovenia is a typical example of an area where earthquake risk is medium to moderate, but if an earthquake similar to 1511 in Idrija would occur again, data suggests that there would be thousands of deaths.

“Seismic safety is one of the aspects we need to consider, although it is often forgotten when renovating old buildings,” Dr Šušteršič said.

“In order to reduce negative environmental effects caused by construction in general, and to mitigate the speed and intensity of climate change in particular, we need to radically improve energy efficiency using construction materials and solutions that are as carbon neutral as possible, including buildings’ positive impact on people’s health and well-being,” he added.

Read more about InnoRenew CoE and University of Primorska researchers’ call for needed changes in Slovenia’s seismic construction and building renovation practices in Strokovnjaki dveh primorskih ustanov s pozivom h korenitim spremembam za večjo potresno varnost objektov, published on the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) webpage.