Shares and evacuation procedures in schools
On February 6, a further shock of magnitude 3.0 was warned during the time of school lessons, in correspondence of which the Temporary evacuation operations of students and teaching staff as expected in civil protection plans.
The importance of seismic preparation
The director of the National Observatory of Earthquakes Ingv Dr. Lucia Margheriti he told the press that «In Italy, in general, one must learn to coexist with earthquakes. In Siena the citizens have frightened. This feeling must make sure that there is greater attention on the subject, you must always be prepared and ready for what are the plans of the Civil Protection and must be lent greater attention to the conditions of the buildings in which we live and work. As is known, we have a heritage of buildings that are often historical and ancient and therefore inevitably more fragile ».
Siena and seismic risk
The province of Siena is Area to Media-Bassa Seismicityhistorically confirmed by different earthquakes although with less strong events than those that take place along the Apennine band. Moreover, two years ago the area had been affected by a seismic swarm of similar intensity, also in that case with short precaution of schools and other public buildings.
Is the safety of school buildings adequate?
However, the necessary checks performed induce a reflection: it can magnitude 3.2 put in discussion The structural safety of our school building heritage, so as to suspend lessons for a day? We have a school construction capable of guaranteeing security even in front of seismic swarms of modest entity?
Evacuation as a safety measurement
The evacuation proceduresforeseen by the Civil Protection plans, are necessary for each shock whose intensity Do not make the occupants of the school structure safe. They represent behavioral procedures that must be known and implemented by the entire population in the event of an earthquake, for the purpose of its safety.
But, in the face of a modest seismic intensity, the detention activity for one or more days, however understandable and necessary in the prudence that animates the activity of the bodies in charge of safeguarding public safety, should make us reflect on one fragility of the public building heritage which is highlighted, unfortunately, already in the face of magnitude of modest entities. Leaving in citizens an inevitable sense of insecurity.
For one Seismically adequate structureprobably, in addition to the short fright and any evacuation procedures, there would have been no need for further checks and firm activities, at least for minor intensity seismic swarms. This would allow the population to experience the seismic event with greater serenity, aware of having children within very safe structures.
Seismic adaptation: a necessity for safety
The seismic adjustment of a existing structure has the same seismic safety as one new constructionbut in both cases the structures, in the presence of a significant earthquake will not be exempt from damagewhile still guaranteeing the safeguarding of people’s lives within them.
The risk of detention activity it will never be nullbut if all existing schools received the necessary seismic adjustments or improvements, it would probably be limited Only to greater power seismic events.
The need for a structural plan for school safety
The inconveniences that still derive from a modest seismic activity recall the need for one radical planning of the safety of the existing school building heritage, which mostly appears old Even in the technical standards of construction drawn up in periods in which the anti -seismic requirements were not yet mandatory.
Although many seismic safety construction sites have already been carried out and many are underway with recent PNRR funds, however every seismic swarm still highlights the fragility of the most part of school construction still remained in its original and vulnerable constructive state.
Invest in prevention to guarantee the future
The investment in security does not pay immediately like energy efficiency, but over time the Better expense In terms of serenity, safeguarding life and school activities.
A country that wants to guarantee security must continue to invest in Prevention of the building heritageespecially the most old one, as the only winning path to reduce deaths and damage in the case of strongly intensity earthquakes, which inevitably sooner or later will happen again being our territory historically at risk.
