The EERC will be taking part in the KnowRISK EU Project. The project aims to provide local communities access to expert knowledge on non-structural seismic risk protection solutions. Scientific knowledge is turned into practical knowledge for citizens and encuragement for communities to engage in disaster risk reduction.

Non-structural elements of  buildings  are their architectural parts (i.e. partitions, ceilings, cladding), electrical and mechanic systems (i.e. distribution panels, piping, plumbing), and contents (e.g., furniture, book cases, computers and desktop equipment). Their damage can limit access to escape routes, cause injuries and even death.  They have a significant impact on resilience since up to 70%-85% of construction cost goes into these elements.

The KnowRISK consortium consists of four partner organisations (IST, LNEC, INGV and EERC), including universities, laboratories and research centres, from three European Countries (Portugal, Italy and Iceland).

The Project is currently in full progress, and will the final project assembly will take place in Portugal at the start of December. Following it’s completion the EERC plans to present some of the results at the Europen Conference on Earthquake Engineering conference in Thessalonica. Furthermore, the EERC is also looking into publishing content regarding the KnowRISK project in the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.