Italy lacks maintenance: 60 percent of old buildings are at serious risk.

LAND MAINTENANCE AND CARE IN ITALY –

Sixty percent of Italy's older buildings are at high risk : despite the many earthquakes that have devastated our country over the years, bringing death and destruction, a proper seismic prevention plan has never been implemented. From the 1960s to the present, the Italian government has invested €150 billion in post-earthquake reconstruction, but only €1 billion has been allocated to prevention efforts , and only after the devastating 2009 earthquake that devastated L'Aquila.

We live in a country where the word "maintenance" has been erased . By the state, by local administrations, by land-use planning agencies. Eighty-one percent of municipalities are at risk of hydrogeological disasters , a definition we invoke with the usual Manzonian cries every time a natural disaster occurs. Approximately 24,000 schools in the country are at risk of earthquakes . In southern regions, nearly half of the water flowing through pipes, the famous "common good," is wasted due to the obsolescence of leaky sewer systems.

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HYDROGEOLOGICAL AND ANTI-SEISMIC MAINTENANCE OF THE TERRITORY –

We know well that ours is a fragile country, at high seismic and geological risk , where homes are built without earthquake-proof standards and sometimes illegally in dangerous locations. It is essential to implement a prevention plan for our region as soon as possible, with adequate interventions for both hydrogeological and seismic risks. An investment plan and ongoing regular and extraordinary activities throughout the country, from North to South, are needed to prevent and ensure that earthquakes like the one that devastated central Italy do not bring further death and destruction.

It takes a lot of money, it's true, but prevention is also a way to save money . How much will it take to rebuild Amatrice or Pescara del Tronto from the rubble? A lot, a lot of money. And who knows if these beautiful villages will ever live again as they once did.

Disasters caused by landslides, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters cost us much more than the investments needed for adequate maintenance and safety . Not to mention that prevention is also a way to create jobs.

We can't prevent earthquakes, but we can at least limit their damage through a prevention policy that includes investments in redevelopment and very clear regulations for construction and inspections . Currently, in Italy, seismic retrofitting of existing buildings is not mandatory, although this obligation arises for major renovations and new construction.

And while new buildings are safer, our country's enormous building stock, especially those built before 1981, the year in which compliance with certain anti-seismic regulations was introduced after the earthquake that devastated Irpinia, is not. Most structures located in high-risk areas may not be able to withstand a devastating earthquake like this one.

TO LEARN MORE: 24 schools are at seismic risk. Here's what to do.

ILLEGAL BUILDING IN ITALY –

And let's not forget the illegal building, both large and small, which has since become rampant, with responsibilities that also call into question the civic sense of citizens . In Italy, we consume, or rather, devour, 8 square meters of land every second. An impressive, unsustainable rate, but we know that the improper use of land is a chain of interests and consensus (are you aware of the popularity a building amnesty brings?). Therefore, prevention in Italy, also given the fragile characteristics of our territory, is truly a gargantuan task and something we need now, to prevent it from being too late again.

The images show the rubble in Amatrice caused by the terrible earthquake of August 24, 2016.

Credits: Antonio Nardelli / Shutterstock.com

TO KNOW MORE: Uncontrolled construction: Italy is losing 55 hectares of land every day.