“The occurrence of a major earthquake in Lisbon in the future is almost a certainty and the city should be prepared, although it is impossible to predict when such a phenomenon will occur,” stated a report presented to the AML.


The proposal, drawn up by the Standing Committee on Transport, Mobility and Security, following a debate held last April in AML, stresses that “the construction of new hospitals and other relevant facilities such as fire stations, health clinics, schools and nursing homes in tsunami-prone areas and that projects include adequate anti-seismic protection systems such as basic insulation. “


The document also recommends that “seismic reinforcement of municipal buildings under rehabilitation works be promoted” and that “monitoring mechanisms be developed for urban rehabilitation interventions, especially in buildings built prior to anti-seismic legislation.”


The proposal adds that the city council should promote to the competent authorities “the weighting of the amendment to the applicable legislation to introduce seismic reinforcement of buildings in rehabilitation works of buildings prior to anti-seismic legislation.”


The Transport Committee also includes in its proposal a set of self-protection measures, such as “promoting knowledge and prevention of the population in relation to seismic and tsunami risks, as well as information on ways of reducing risks in existing buildings and infrastructures” .


The document presented and discussed today at AML highlights that “all buildings essential to the city’s relief,” such as fire stations and squadrons, must be equipped with “all safety standards, including anti-seismic protection systems.”


The proposal calls for the identification, in conjunction with parish councils, of “all citizens who live in isolated conditions or who have difficulty locomotion, so that information can be made available to civil protection agents, so that these citizens to be promptly rescued. “