Europe’s most dangerous capital: BBC podcast looks at Bucharest’s unsafe buildings and high seismic risk

A BBC podcast looks at the unsafe buildings in Bucharest and the city’s high seismic risk. In the episode called “Europe’s most dangerous capital,” reporter Simona Rata talks about this significant problem of Romania.

Years of neglect have left many buildings in a terrible shape, and a serious quake “would cause many of the buildings to collapse, with a potential loss of life into the thousands,” BBC says. Little has been done to reinforce and renovate the buildings affected by the major earthquake of 1977, which killed nearly 1,600 people and collapsed thousands of buildings.

“The World Bank estimates that a similar earthquake will lead to USD 12 billion worth of damage,” reporter Simona Rata says in the BBC podcast.

Today, many buildings in Bucharest are at high-seismic risk, which means that they would likely fall if a strong quake shakes Romania. A few years back, such buildings were marked by putting a red rod on them. And, according to BBC, “nothing else has happened since.”

Reporter Simona Rata explains that even without an earthquake, there’s danger, with buildings with cracked walls and facades in very bad shape still standing in Bucharest. Buildings are a threat not only to residents but to passersby too.

The BBC podcast is available here.

(Photo source: Pixabay.com)