Authorities need to get up to
speed on the fact that reinforced concrete is not anti-seismic,
as proven by yesterday's near-collapse of a 2012 school in the
quake-stricken village of Amatrice, an expert said Thursday.
"As already happened in previous Italy earthquakes,
reinforced concrete does not absolutely guarantee safety,"
said Claudio Del Medico Fasano, who is the president of the
Ecological School Association.
At least 180 people were killed in Amatrice, a medieval
town with some 21st-century construction, after a 6.2-magnitude
earthquake flattened it before dawn on Wednesday.
He said the only truly anti-seismic buildings are those
made out of wood and structural panels with rigid frames.
Buildings with latest-generation ecological walls are conceived
"to save human lives", he said in a statement.
"Italy is total seismic and we're living in a constant
emergency instead of focusing our efforts on prevention,
building with evolved anti-seismic techniques and leaving behind
the old cement-based schemes".
Those old schemes have proven to be dangerous failures, he
said.
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