Radio România Internațional

Tag: earthquakes

  • January 22, 2025

    January 22, 2025

    ECONOMY The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) Tuesday approved Romania’s 7-year fiscal structural plan to reduce the country’s budget deficit. The plan is designed to stabilise public debt as Romania remains among the top EU member states in terms of public investment – over 7% of GDP, bringing the budget deficit below 3% in 2025-2031, the finance minister Tánczos Barna explained. The decision comes as several countries, including France, Spain, Italy and Finland, are facing similar challenges and have requested an extension of the fiscal adjustment period from 4 to 7 years, until 2031. Other topics on the ECOFIN meeting agenda include the current impact of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the priorities of the Polish presidency of the EU Council, the 2025 European Semester and the endorsement of the revised recovery and resilience plans for Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

     

    POLL  90% of Romanians reject the idea of ​​leaving NATO, a record level of approval for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, an INSCOP survey made public on Tuesday indicates. According to the poll, based on data collected at the end of last year, Romanians’ support for the West in terms of political and military alliances has increased by 10% over the past 3 years. The poll also shows that Romania’s European Union membership is seen by almost three-quarters of respondents as an advantage in terms of its effects on economic and social life, on family and personal life. Only 55% of Romanians believed this 3 years ago.

     

    PROTEST The Bucharest metro trade unionists today carry on their protest in front of the Government headquarters, demanding respect for the employees and the collective bargaining agreement. On Tuesday, they picketed the finance ministry, demanding pay raises and proper financing for the company. Metro employees also announced work-to-rule and token strikes, against the ordinance passed by the new government at the end of last year, which no longer allows hiring, promotions and the rights negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement registered in early December 2024.

     

    EARTHQUAKES Romania will have a seismic risk map for each locality, and the authorities in high-risk areas will have access to a governmental programme to consolidate public buildings, the development minister Cseke Attila announced. He added that the programme is fully funded from the state budget and that the priority is to consolidate healthcare units. According to the latest statistics, over 2,500 buildings in Bucharest alone are in danger of collapsing in intensity 7+ earthquakes similar to the one in 1977.

     

    POLLUTION Romanian authorities are closely monitoring the situation in the Black Sea, after 2 Russian oil tankers were badly damaged in the Kerch Strait at the end of last year, causing an environmental disaster in the area. The environment minister Mircea Fechet warned that everyone must be prepared, but stressed that the risks of the pollution wave reaching the Romanian coastline are minimal. Authorities are assessing the situation, after over 2,000 tons of highly toxic oil product spilled in the sea, causing the death of thousands of birds and leaving hundreds of dolphins stranded tens of kilometres from the shore.

     

    TRUMP The US president Donald Trump said new sanctions against Russia are “possible” if Moscow does not negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, AFP reports. He added the United States would consider continuing military aid to Kyiv, which has amounted to tens of billions of dollars since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Trump had previously said that Russia was heading for disaster if it refused to negotiate and sign a ceasefire or peace agreement with Ukraine. As for the Ukrainian president, Trump expects Zelenskyy to be willing to sign an agreement. (AMP)

  • Coordination for anti-seismic protection

    Coordination for anti-seismic protection

    The
    devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last week and those quite unusual that
    rocked south-western Romania seem to have also shaken the authorities in
    Bucharest. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca says that the standards regarding the
    construction of buildings and the quality of materials must be revised and re-checked
    so that buildings are constructed according to the blueprints.




    During
    the government session on Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced the setting
    up of a ministerial group in charge of the prevention, training and response of
    the institutions in emergency situations.




    He
    explains that special emphasis will be attached to the country’s education infrastructure
    and its response in earthquake situations. Prime Minister Ciuca also wants to
    check the Turkish companies which ran construction contracts in Romania.


    According to experts, Turkey’s
    recent history in this respect coincides with that of Romania’s, with the
    difference that the latter has been spared the tests of high-magnitude
    earthquakes.




    Around the 2018 election, the
    Islamic-Conservative regime in Ankara granted an amnesty to all the
    constructions made without a permit. As a result, nine million people were
    discovered as owning houses, which didn’t respect any construction standards. And
    no one knows how many of these non-compliant buildings were razed to the ground
    by the earthquake on February 6th.




    The recent earthquakes in southern
    Romania have caused panic and material damage but posed no threat to the life
    of the citizens.




    According to Development Minister
    Cseke Attila, contracts for the reinforcement of 240 buildings have been signed
    and they are benefitting from funds from the National Plan of Recovery and
    Resilience (PNRR). There are several other programmes through which the state is
    funding the reinforcement of high-risk buildings and 555 million Euros will be
    earmarked through the PNRR. 290 requests in this respect have so far been submitted
    through the platform of the aforementioned ministry.




    We recall that on March 4th
    1977, an earthquake of 7.2 degrees on the Richter scale hit Romania killing 1,570
    people mostly in the capital Bucharest. It also caused four billion dollars in
    material damage. 230 thousand houses were severely damaged and destroyed and
    hundreds of economic units ceased their operations. The earthquake caused an economic and
    social crisis, which, according to historians, the communist dictatorship was
    unable to overcome until its demise 12 years later. Experts believe that in the
    event of a similar earthquake, hundreds of buildings could collapse in
    Bucharest at present. And according to statistics, Romania sees annually around
    100 earthquakes with magnitudes over 3 degrees on the Richter scale.




    (bill)

  • February 15, 2023 UPDATE

    February 15, 2023 UPDATE

    Moldova — President Klaus Iohannis states that Romania supported and continues to support the Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet state with a majority Romanian-speaking population) and strongly condemns any destabilization attempt initiated from outside the country. “The public signals regarding any attempts by the Russian Federation to intervene illegitimately to overthrow the democratic and constitutional order of the Republic of Moldova, a sovereign state, which chose its political direction through free elections, are extremely worrying,” says the head of state in a press release on Wednesday. Klaus Iohannis reiterated that the Republic of Moldova is not alone in facing these challenges and reiterated Romanias unflinching support for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this state, within its internationally recognized borders and for its pro-European future. At the same time, the head of state points out that the place of the Republic of Moldova is in the great family of the European Union and that this path is “irreversible and must be followed with consistency, courage and ambition”. President Iohannis made these statements after on Monday, the Moldovan president, the pro-Western Maia Sandu, announced that Moscow intended to force the change of political power in the Republic of Moldova in the next period through violent actions, which would destabilize the country.



    Quake — The Romanian Prime Minister, Nicolae Ciucă, announced that, as of Thursday, an inter-institutional working group will be established under his direct coordination, with the aim of preventing, preparing and responding to earthquake situations. The group will include the Ministries of Development, Interior, Education, Health, Energy, Environment, Transport, Culture and Research. They will be joined by the National Union of County Councils, the Association of Cities, Municipalities and Communes, the State Constructions Inspectorate and the Technical University of Constructions. Nicolae Ciucă pointed out that special importance would be given to the school infrastructure with a seismic risk: schools at risk in the event of an earthquake will be immediately refurbished. The prime minister also added that there is a need for a reevaluation of institutional buildings and private apartment buildings, and also for rechecking and revising the standards in the field of constructions. On Monday and Tuesday, two high-intensity earthquakes occurred in southern Romania – 5.2 and 5.7 on the Richter scale. No casualties were reported, but the people panicked, as seismic events rarely occur in this area.



    Inflation — The National Bank of Romania revised the inflation forecast for the end of this year to 7%, down from 11.2% as previously estimated. According to the quarterly report on inflation, presented on Thursday by the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu, at the end of next year, the indicator will be 4.2%. Romania has consolidated its position in terms of inflation within the European Union. Mugur Isărescu also said that a balance must be achieved between combating inflation and avoiding a possible recession and added that the inflation forecast is marked by numerous uncertainties.



    Ukraine — The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, renewed, on Wednesday, in the European Parliament, the EUs commitments to support Ukraine. The head of the European executive announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, as well as against Iran, which supplies the Russian army with drones that have repeatedly struck civilian areas. The MEPs called for more sanctions against Moscow and for the Russians to be brought before the court in The Hague to be tried for war crimes. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent, the majority of MEPs support the military aid given to the Ukrainian army and even sending fighter jets, because, in their opinion, it is not the delivery of Western weapons that prolongs the war, but the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.



    Chisinau – The prime minister-designate of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Recean, presents, on Thursday, in the Moldovan Parliament, the government program and the list of ministers proposed for the new Cabinet. Dorin Recean declared that his priorities will be order and discipline in institutions, the economy, security and European integration. The press from Chisinau comments that it is expected that the new Executive will be voted, in the context in which the Action and Solidarity Party, which holds a parliamentary majority, has publicly announced that they will support it. Many of the current ministers could be found in the new Government. The change of government in Chisinau takes place against the background of the increasingly tense security situation in the Republic of Moldova. Dorin Recean, presidential advisor for security, also held the position of Interior Minister in the past. President Maia Sandu on Friday proposed him as a candidate for the position of prime minister, after the acting Prime Minister Natalia Gavriliţa announced her resignation. (LS)



  • Unexpected seismic activity

    Unexpected seismic activity

    Two earthquakes
    rocked for two consecutive days the south-western regions of Romania. The first
    with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale took place on Monday and had 16
    aftershocks. The second one, more powerful with a 5.7 magnitude took place at a
    depth of 7 kilometers and was also felt in other regions of Romania, including
    in Bucharest. These two earthquakes came at a time when the death toll of those
    that hit Turkey and Syria last week is on the rise. Romania’s main seismic area
    is Vrancea in south-east, so the latest earthquakes in the country’s south-west
    came as a surprise mainly to those studying the phenomenon. Here is the
    director of the Institute for Earth Physics, Constantin Ionescu.




    Constantin Ionescu:The area has rarely seen any earthquakes and
    those that happened there before were of low magnitudes, of 3, 2, 1 degrees.
    And it came as a surprise to us the fact that the area became active again. A
    couple of earthquakes was reported in that area in the past but never with
    magnitudes over 4 degrees. From the geological point of view, the tectonic
    plates moved vertically. Both of them shared the same mechanism, it was a
    tandem, so to say. And the second one wasn’t an aftershock.




    There were no
    victims but the first quake caused panic, which was probably fuelled by the
    recent Turkish-Syrian tragedy. The two earthquakes had effects in three
    counties in the country’s southwest though.


    Here is now Raed
    Arafat, the head of Romania’s Department for Emergency Situations.




    Raed Arafat: The
    effects of these two earthquakes have been felt in six towns and villages in
    three counties, Gorj, Dolj and Mehedinţi. Fifty emergency calls have been
    registered but people mainly called in about their cracked walls or to report some elements of masonry that had collapsed.
    Initially there were rumors about a destroyed building, which eventually proved
    false. Several panic attacks have also been reported by means of the 112
    emergency number.




    More serious issues
    appeared in the Gorj county on the national road crossing the Jiu Gorges, which
    was blocked by fallen boulders and the intervention of road workers was needed.
    In Târgu Jiu, capital of the Gorj county, the tremors caused damage to the
    buildings of the City Hall and the Prefect’s Office. They also caused
    disruptions in the electricity and gas supplies, which resumed shortly.


    State secretary
    Arafat has drawn attention to the fact that panic can lead to a series of
    mistakes during an earthquake and can even prove deadly. According to him
    people must train to get a better reaction in situations like these. An
    application, which can be accessed at the portal of the Emergency Situations
    Department, comprises a series of recommendations on how to behave before,
    during and after an earthquake.


    (bill)



  • February 15, 2023

    February 15, 2023

    MOLDOVA President Klaus Iohannis says Romania has stood and will
    stand by the R. of Moldova and firmly condemns any foreign attempt at destabilising
    this country. It is highly alarming to see public signs of attempts by the
    Russian Federation to step in illegitimately and upset the democratic and
    constitutional order of the R. of Moldova, a sovereign state that has chosen
    its political direction through a free vote, the Romanian president said in a statement
    issued on Wednesday. Klaus Iohannis reiterated that Moldova is not alone in facing
    these challenges, and reconfirmed Romania’s unwavering support for the
    sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country, within its
    internationally recognised borders, and for its pro-European future. The
    Romanian official also pointed out that Moldova belongs in the EU family, and
    that this path is irreversible and must be followed with determination, courage
    and ambition. The statement comes after on Monday the pro-Western president of
    Moldova Maia Sandu announced Moscow was planning to force a change of the
    political power in Moldova, using violence to destabilise the country.


    AID Romania is sending further humanitarian
    aid to Turkey and Syria in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquakes that
    killed some 40,000 people. A new humanitarian flight by 3 Romanian Air Forces
    aircraft today takes around 22 tonnes of goods donated by the Romanian
    government to the people affected by the tremors in the 2 countries. Another 2
    trains with basic necessity products have been already sent to Turkey, and 2
    planes with humanitarian aid were sent to Syria on Tuesday. According to the UN,
    9 million Syrian and 2.2 million Turkish nationals need aid. The Turkish Confederation
    of Enterprises and Businesses says the disaster might cost the country 84 billion
    US dollars.


    UN The Romanian foreign minister
    Bogdan Aurescu Tuesday had talks with the UN secretary general António
    Guterres. The Romanian official was at the UN headquarters in New York, where
    he was a speaker at the UN Security Council debate on Threats to international peace and
    security: Sea-level rise: implications for international peace and security.
    According to the foreign ministry, the 2 officials discussed climate change and
    its consequences, as well as the situation in Ukraine one year after the start
    of Russia’s illegal war of aggression. Bogdan Aurescu pointed out
    that Russia’s irresponsible conduct, which violates the core principles of international
    order, must end, and that it is particularly serious for a member of the UN
    Security Council to have started this war. The Romanian foreign minister also
    highlighted Romania’s support efforts, including the receiving of over 3.5
    million Ukrainian refugees who have transited Romania. Current developments in
    the R. of Moldova were also discussed.


    DEFENCE Romania’s defence minister Angel Tîlvăr and the chief of
    general staff Daniel Petrescu Tuesday took part in a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, held in Brussels
    on the sidelines of the meeting of NATO defence ministers. According to the
    Romanian defence ministry, since the start of Russia’s war of aggression
    against Ukraine, Romania has provided shelter and aid to over 3.5 million
    Ukrainian nationals who have transited the country, and has taken part in facilitating
    the transit of nearly 12 million tonnes of grains from Ukraine to global
    markets. Romania has stated repeatedly that the scope and regularity of the support
    given to Ukraine must be maintained. Also on the sidelines of the meeting of
    NATO defence ministers, Angel Tîlvăr had bilateral talks with his counterparts
    from the UK, Ben Wallace, and Spain, Margarita Robles Fernandez. They discussed
    the security situation in the Black Sea region and emphasised the need for
    substantial Allied contribution to ensuring the effectiveness and credibility
    of NATO’s defence posture on the eastern flank.


    INFLATION The National Bank of Romania has revised its inflation
    forecast for the end of this year from 11.2% estimated previously to 7%. According
    to the Quarterly Inflation Report made public today by the central bank
    governor Mugur Isarescu, at the end of 2024 the indicator will stand at 4.2%. Romania
    has consolidated its position in the EU in terms of inflation, with the 9th
    highest rate in the Union. Mugur Isărescu also said a balance must be achieved
    between fighting inflation and avoiding a possible recession, and added that
    the inflation forecast is marked by many uncertainties.


    FOOTBALL CFR Cluj, the only Romanian team still
    playing in the European competitions, Thursday takes on the Italian side Lazio Rome, away from home, in the
    playoffs for the Conference League’s eighth-finals. The second leg of this
    round is scheduled next week in Cluj-Napoca. According to a UEFA poll, the
    Romanians are most likely to win. This season CFR Cluj finished the group stage 2nd in a group that also
    included Sivasspor (Turkey), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) and Ballkani
    (Kosovo), while Lazio ended up in the Conference League playoffs after
    finishing 3rd in its group, after Feyenoord (the Netherlands) and
    Midtjylland (Denmark). (AMP)

  • How Predictable Are Earthquakes?

    How Predictable Are Earthquakes?

    This statement belongs to honorary
    director of the Earth Physics Institute, Gheorghe Marmureanu, who recalled that
    Vrancea, the most seismically active area of Romania, produces annually 8 to 12
    earthquakes of around 4 points on the Richter scale. According to Gheorghe Marmureanu, Vrancea is unique in the world.






    Gheorghe Marmureanu: I looked
    at Vrancea, which is a special system, totally different from anything in the
    world, even if you could say that the Hindukush in the Himalayas is similar. It
    may have strong earthquakes at great depth, but they don’t have the same
    manifestation. There is something similar in the north east of Colombia. I
    looked at everything that occurred in the last 600 years in Romania. For the
    last 300 years of activity I saw what earthquakes caused loss of life and
    material goods – in the 312 years I have analyzed there were 5 great
    earthquakes that caused loss of life and damage.






    A tremor closer to the surface, meaning
    less than 100 km, has effects towards Bucharest, Bulgaria and Serbia, they are
    tremors directing destructive energy in those directions. Deeper tremors get
    directed mostly towards Moldova and Ukraine. There is an alternation of surface
    and deep tremors, and by this logic, Marmureanu said that a quake oriented towards
    the northwest would occur sometime in 2040, because the one in March 1977 was a
    surface tremor. There is the possibility that it will not occur even then,
    because in 1986 in Vrancea there was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake that did not do
    any damage, but released a lot of energy. The Earth is a living system, in
    continuous transformation, says Gheorghe Marmureanu.






    Gheorghe Marmureanu: We have the great African rift, developing
    day by day. The waters in the Red Sea have already run into the rift. Africa
    will one day break up, as it shifts upwards. The south and east of Africa will
    dislocate and form another continent with Madagascar. We don’t see it, but
    America moves further away from Europe every year by 45 to 55 mm. Everything is
    alive. Below us, between 110 to 200 km and 3000 km, there is magma. Magma is
    not still, it moves. The upper magma cools, the lower magma is hot, there are
    convection currents in some places from left to right, in other places from
    right to left. Above the magma are tectonic plates. There are 16 tectonic
    plates, and at the places they meet, across their thickness, which is 80 to 100
    km, there are non-linear phenomena that cannot be controlled.






    Earthquakes have different causes, 98% of them are tectonic and
    superficial. The tectonic plates, which have various thickness and sizes,
    interact. The greatest tectonic plate is the Pacific one, the Eurasian one,
    which runs from the mid-Atlantic to the Barents Sea, next to others such as the
    Philippine one, the Pacific plate, the North American plate, and all these
    float on magma, a melting substance where earthquakes cannot occur, because for
    earthquakes a crystalline structure is needed, as explained by Gheorghe
    Marmureanu. Earthquakes need a crystalline structure, a structure that can
    store potential energy that it releases later. In Romania, tremors do not occur
    because one plate slides against another, it is a system of continental
    collision. So how predictable earthquakes really are?






    Gheorghe Marmureanu: Earthquakes are earthquakes. If they would
    be predictable they would be controllable, which we cannot do in fact. They
    occur anywhere and anytime on this earth.






    However, Romania has set up a system of real time tremor warning.
    Professor Marmureanu said about this system:






    Gheorghe Marmureanu: Our system has been granted an award by the
    European Community, it is a system that allows for the magnitude of the tremor
    to be established in four seconds. If the system reveals a 7-egree tremor, then
    all users go on alert, all the areas with a major risk in case of earthquake.
    It is the only system in the world, aside from the Japanese one.








    In the event of an earthquake, at risk installations get blocked
    automatically, and 30 seconds before the earthquake occurs, state institutions
    and the Committee for States of Emergency get alerted.