“Only 10%” of buildings in Lisbon need anti-seismic reinforcement

“Lisbon has been preparing for the past two years,” said Carlos Moedas, speaking to the television station SIC.

This morning, Portugal was shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale, recorded at 05:11 and with its epicentre 58 kilometres west of Sines, in the district of Setúbal.

The Lisbon City Council (CML) is “seismically assessing more than 1,500 municipal buildings”, said Carlos Moedas, stressing that “only 10% need reinforcement” against earthquakes.

“We are seismically assessing all the buildings because it is important to know where the dangers are”, stressed Carlos Moedas, recalling that “more than 50% [of the buildings] were built before anti-seismic rules were in place”.

The mayor added that the viaducts at greatest risk have also been identified and that the 28 schools that were transferred from the State to the CML “will be reinforced from a seismic point of view”.

The mayor added that there were “no significant incidents” in the city as a result of the earthquake, but reported that there were “many phone calls” from people “concerned” and seeking information.

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