prevention

ALGIERS – The economic losses caused by earthquakes, floods and forest fires exceeded 5.5 billion dollars, from 2004 to 2022, said Saturday in Algiers the national delegate for major risks, Hamid Afra.

Mr. Afra spoke during the work of the international symposium organized by the Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning and the City, under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, under the theme “Reducing seismic risk: governance and foresight”.

The official specified that since 1950, floods have been more frequent and represent 61% of the catastrophic events recorded during this period.

However, earthquakes are the most costly from an economic point of view, with a loss of 10 billion dollars, according to Mr. Afra, adding that these earthquakes affected a population of 1.4 million people, with nearly 6,000 deaths.

The national delegate also underlined that “the true financial impact of disasters is determined using probabilistic studies which can estimate the average annual losses over a long-term horizon at more than 1 billion dollars, which represents 0.7% of GDP.

“Algeria faces a wide range of major risks.

Currently we have gone to 18 major risks, with the introduction of other emerging risks, in particular extreme climatic risks, cybernetic risk, space risk, locust risk and biotechnological risk”, he noted. , adding that global warming has worsened the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

Regarding the risk of flooding, the same official said that 865 flood-prone areas have been identified across the national territory.

For his part, Professor Abdelkrim Chelghoum, president of the Major Risks Club, welcomed, in a statement to APS on the sidelines of the event, the commitment of the Minister of Housing, Urban Planning and Ville, Mohamed Tarek Laribi, to update the Algerian seismic regulations (RPA), which have not been revised since 2003.

“The revision of the RPA will raise the safety threshold for works and infrastructure,” he believes.

Professor Chelghoum once more welcomed the decision of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune relating to the establishment of an urban planning police, specifying that the latter is “an essential element in the act of building “.

The work of the international symposium on seismic risk reduction, opened in the morning by Prime Minister Mr. Aïmene Benabderrahmane, at the International Conference Center (CIC) Abdelatif-Rahal, continues with conferences and workshops led by Algerian experts. and foreigners.