Bucharest ranks tenth among the world’s capitals when it comes to seismic risk. It also has the largest seismic exposure in Europe and is the Romanian city with the highest risk, according to Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu.

“Experts have identified the main causes: Bucharest’s concentration of buildings and population is incomparable to any other city in Romania. According to the Bucharest urban development plan, issued in 1935, the highest buildings in the city should have been developed in the city’s center, and there is where they’ve been built then. This decision was proven wrong. Unfortunately, the decision was made because no major earthquake occurred for 100 years, from 1831, and experts at the time thought Bucharest had no seismic problems,” said Oprescu, cited by local Digi24.

There are over 760 buildings with seismic risk in Bucharest. Over 180 of them are at high risk of collapse in case of a strong earthquake.

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Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com