02/10

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What the Greeks told us

Greece is the most seismically active country in Europe, experiencing thousands of earthquakes a year (the vast majority extremely mild) so it was always going to be interesting to talk to locals in Athens about how earthquakes affect their life, especially as the city experienced a serious earthquake in 1981. We met with two local residents, Jason Ramchandani, a banker, and Kostes Tsikouris, an architect to hear more about their experience of life on a fault line.

Jason’s attitude seemed to be consistent with many other Greeks we talked to – the strict building codes, upgraded and reinforced after every major quake have given the Greeks a certain quiet confidence in their buildings, which translates into an almost relaxed attitude towards earthquakes. Kostes, the architect told us how many Greeks, when buying a new house, are very particular and knowledgeable about the structural elements of a house that can make a difference to how well it survives an earthquake, especially as it doesn’t cost more to design a house this way.

Click below to hear more about what they have to say.