Over 1,100 buildings in Almaty stand near faultlines

ALMATY. KAZINFORM - Almaty is located in a high seismic hazard zone. 27 tectonic faults run through the city, more than 60% of which are in mountainous areas. This is what Deputy Mayor of the city Askar Amrin said at the extraordinary meeting of the local maslikhat, Kazinform reports.

In his words, up to 200-300 quakes occur within a 90-kilometer radius of Almaty annually, and 50-100 tremors hit in the immediate vicinity - less than 30 kilometers. 44 earthquakes have been

registered since the beginning of 2023.

Amrin reminded that in 2017-2018, the Kazakh Scientific-Research and Design Institute of Construction and Architecture detected 3,087 non-earthquake-proof buildings in Almaty, 2,339 of which are multi-apartment residential buildings and 1,400 are social facilities. 1,116 buildings are located along the fault lines. Of them, 754 are earthquake-proof buildings and 362 are non-earthquake-proof ones.

According to the Deputy Mayor, a new seismic audit will be carried out in the city in H2 2023 which will enable to check 16,700 buildings.

Following the audit, a new risk map will be prepared, which will let reflect most dangerous and secure buildings of the city. A new action plan on earthquake risk management, prevention of earthquake consequences, and seismic strengthening of buildings will be adopted as well.