Civil Protection Department

Emilia Earthquake: presentation of guidelines for interventions on industrial warehouses

Today, the palace of conventions in Bologna hosts tthe “Recovery after the quake: safety and prevention" meeting at 4.30 p.m. It represents a moment to illustrate for interventions on industrial warehouse that were not built with anti-seismic criteria.

The meeting is promoted by the Civil Protection Deparment, The National Council of Engineers, ReLUIS - Laboratories University Network of seismic engineering and Assobeton - National Association fior Cement Handwork Industries. Mauro Dolce, Director of the Department's Office of Seismic and Volcanic Risk

The diffusion the guidelines is due to the necessity of urgent interventions on industrial buildings (warehouses) in Emilia-Romagna, Veneto e Lombardy regions, hit by the quakes of 20 and 29 May. In fact, the formal reconaissance of the territories seismic dangerousness occurred only after 2003, when technical regulations for buildings and seismic classification were reviewed. Industrial building projected without seismic criteria proved very vulnerable and registered various collapses during the shocks in May.

In order to overcome the emergency in these territories, improve safety conditions and safeguard human lives, decree no. 74 provides for a two-phase process:
- local interventions, to eliminate the most relevant structural lacks;
- global interventions, to integrate additional condition as per D.L. no. 74 regarding seismic safety of a building.

Besides highlighting the need of safety and safeguard of human lives, the guidelines respond to the need to guarantee a fast recovery of economy and productivity and represent a support for engineers, building surveyors and technicians that need to carry out prompt interventions on warehouses in the areas affected by the quake.