U.K. investigators studying the April 6 earthquake that rocked Italy west of Rome, killing some 300 people, found that traditional stone masonry buildings with even basic strengthening survived the temblor. As a result of their findings, the engineers are calling for simple reinforcements of older masonry buildings throughout Europe.
"It was good to see, where there had been upgrades, the buildings performed better," says Tiziana Rossetto, who led 10 engineers and scientists from the U.K. Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT). With many homes in Europe and also the developing world sharing traditional building methods, "we need more willingness...to spend a bit of money on reinforcing these houses," she adds.