Auch im Irak viele Gebäude nicht erdbebensicher
Many of Iraq’s buildings could prove to be vulnerable in case of an earthquake similar to the ones that ripped through Turkey and Syria last week, an advanced structures expert told Rudaw on Sunday, emphasizing that the risk could be mitigated if better quality control protocols are implemented.
Professor Lars Abrahamczyk, Chair of Advanced Structures at Bauhaus University Weimar in Germany, spoke to Rudaw’s Ranj Sangawi about the factors that led to the massive destruction of building across Turkey due to the quake, and the possibility of such a disaster occurring in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
“What we have seen from the building stocks, there are many buildings made of brick, stone, or concrete masonry, which are rather vulnerable in case of earthquakes. There are some horizontal and vertical irregularities which are also not that good under earthquake actions,” said Abrahamczyk about the buildings in Iraq.
Abrahamczyk specified that his research on the buildings of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region is still in its early stages, but stressed that there are differences in the composition of the building stock compared to Turkey.