Time to take heed

The tremor that shook the Maltese islands last Monday is no isolated incident. It is just one in a series of events that periodically occur in the Mediterranean, one of the world's more seismically active regions, as evidenced by events in Sicily to our north, Algeria to the west and Greece to the east.

Few, in fact, realise that the first known seismic provisions were enforced just over 250 kilometres from our shores in the south of Italy, following a destructive event. The Maltese islands themselves have been subjected to tremors throughout their history, with the most notable being that of 1693, which caused significant damage to various localities.

This latest event should therefore be treated as an eye-opener by the powers that be. While apocalyptic scenarios are counter-productive at best, serious issues need to be addressed. Certainly, one basic question instantly springs to mind. Does the Civil Protection Department have an emergency management plan in place, in the event of such an occurrence? A few years ago I was asked to design a building for the latter and when I remarked that I would be designing for a certain earthquake magnitude I was rebuffed and told that earthquakes simply do not happen in Malta. Clearly, education is sorely needed in this respect.

Admittedly we are a small country with few resources if any, but this does not exonerate us from our responsibilities. No national academic study has to date been conducted to assess the seismic risk of the Maltese islands, although a few individuals have contributed, most notably Pauline Galea in her endeavour to compile a historical earthquake catalogue for the Maltese islands.

However, monetary resources are scarce, even though the amounts involved are but a pittance when compared to what we, as a people, are prepared to spend on other areas. Without a doubt, the return on any capital allocated would be invaluable.

What's more, the overall majority of our buildings are not designed to withstand earthquake forces, indeed ridicule is often meted on those practitioners who advise for such. To add insult to injury, we live in a society where the load-bearing structure of a building is not even regulated, with no building codes enforced or structural designs submitted for peer review.

Indeed, the public simply relies on the capability of the signatory architect and though the much- awaited building regulations are a step in the right direction they are, unfortunately, wide in scope and somewhat feeble in their approach regarding the issue. The need to update our construction practices is consequently vital, pun intended.

It is high time, therefore, that we as a society quantify the risk posed to us by such an event, however small it may be. We owe it to ourselves to guard against such an occurrence; there is no excuse for ignorance, the writing is on the wall. The repercussions of a relatively small scale event might prove disastrous, with no room for error. During the course of my studies and field visits to earthquake-stricken regions, I have witnessed first hand how often it is that negligence exerts its dues from the innocent. The recent events of the November 2002 in Molise, Italy and the May 2003 Turkish school collapses are but a terrible reminder.

Note: The author is an architect and civil engineer by profession and is currently pursuing doctoral studies in the University of Bath, UK. As part of his research into the assessment of the seismic risk to the Maltese islands, he asks that people visit the website http://students.bath.ac.uk/abpflae and fill out the form with details of their experiences during the July 7, 2003 event.