Some of the buildings hosting ambulance services and firefighting units are at risk in case of a major earthquake, according to Raed Arafat, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU).

Moreover, some hospitals in Romania may also be affected in case of an earthquake similar to that in Italy, according to health minister Vlad Voiculescu, reports local News.ro.

This means that the state’s emergency intervention capacity would be impaired if a major earthquake hits Romania.

“If the headquarters of a firefighting unit is not consolidated and the garages collapse, I must wipe those fire trucks from the intervention list. The same goes for ambulances. If their headquarters is exposed to seismic risk, it means that an earthquake can destroy some of the intervention units,” Raed Arafat said in a TV show.

He pointed out that Romania needed to consolidate the buildings hosting emergency intervention units, otherwise these units may be impaired and not ready to intervene in case of a major disaster. However, he added that Romania has a coordination center outside of Bucharest which can withstand an earthquake with a magnitude over 8 on the Richter scale.

Still, Romania is not ready to handle an earthquake similar to the one in Italy, health minister Vald Voiculescu thinks. He says that the hospital infrastructure is old and may be affected by such an earthquake.

editor@romania-insider.com