How is Poland protected against an earthquake? Referring to this question to the tragedies in Turkey and Syria.

Poland is not located in a seismic area where tectonic plates move. Earthquakes in Poland are rare, rather in the south of the country and they are hardly felt.

In Poland, we are not exposed to a high risk of earthquakes, but this does not mean that we should not be prepared for such a situation. Special security systems and construction regulations are in place in newly constructed buildings to minimize the risk of damage and loss due to an earthquake. Earthquakes in Poland occur mainly in the south of our country, and they are most often caused by collapsing mines.

The territory of Poland does not belong to the so-called seismic areas. Earthquakes occur sporadically and are quite weak. Despite this, we know of cases of damage caused by earthquakes in Poland. Here are some examples of the largest recorded earthquakes in the history of Poland.

Year 1443 (June 5) - the largest earthquake in the history of Poland (about 6 degrees on the Richter scale). The epicenter was probably north of Wrocław. The shock was felt across Central Europe. Wrocław was particularly badly affected, and in Kraków the vault of the church of St. Catherine.

Year 1662 (August 9) - a strong earthquake struck the Tatra Mountains. The epicenter fell in the vicinity of Sławkowski Peak. Its height then decreased by about 300 m.

1785-1786 - a series of 14 earthquakes took place in southern Poland and in Szczecin. The last two were especially serious.

February 27, 1786 - an earthquake from the epicenter between Cieszyn and Opava was felt from Vienna to Piotrków Trybunalski and from Wrocław to Sandomierz. In Cieszyn, brick buildings were damaged, in Cierlicko the vault of the church cracked, and in Mysłów the church tower was damaged. In Silesia, in Bytom, the quake was so strong that church bells started ringing by themselves.

The last of the very strong earthquakes in Poland occurred in December 1786. The epicenter fell between Kęty and Myślenice. The vibrations were felt from Wrocław to Lviv and from Głogów and Kalisz to Kosice in Slovakia. The shock caused considerable damage: in Kraków, the water in the Vistula River was raging, the cornices and plaster in churches fell, the bells rang automatically.

There are known earthquakes in Hrubieszów in 1875 and near Niemcza in 1895.

Many tremors were recorded in February 1932 in the vicinity of Płock, Kielce and Lublin.

The years 1992-1993 saw a series of tremors in the area of Beskid Sądecki and Niski. The tremors were accompanied by a dull rumble and a very strong blow from the ground. Heavy furniture moved around in the apartments. A similar series of tremors also occurred in September 1995 in Podhale.

Slight earthquakes are quite frequent in the Giant Mountains.

Poland has two major earthquake areas. One region covers the Kaczawskie Mountains, the Sudeckie Foothills, the Silesian Lowland, the Trzebnicki Embankment and the Wielkopolska Lowland along the Jelenia Góra-Leszno line. The second - the Oświęcim Valley, the Silesian and Krakow-Częstochowa Uplands along the Oświęcim-Herby line.

Earthquakes are natural shocks and vibrations of the earth's crust caused by elastic waves propagating inside the earth, caused by natural factors or as a result of human activity (e.g. mining collapses, underground nuclear explosions).

A significant part of tremors in Poland is the result of mining activity (so-called rock bursts).

A particularly powerful tremor caused by a collapse in the "Rudna" copper mine took place on February 21, 2002 in Polkowice in Lower Silesia. Walls and pipes burst in the houses, furniture overturned, panic seized the inhabitants.

September 21, 2004 - The earth shook twice in north-eastern Poland. Tremors with the magnitude of 4.5 and 5.3 on the Richter scale were felt in Pomerania, Warmia and Mazury, Suwałki Region and Podlasie. The epicenter was in the Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia - probably at the first shock on the border of sea and land, and at the second - on land. The earthquake was felt in many towns in the Podlaskie, Mazury-Warmińskie and Pomeranian Voivodships.

January 6, 2012 - Earth tremors were felt by the inhabitants of Żerków and Kalisz (Wielkopolska); the fire brigade did not record any material damage.

Just like in the 90's for the flood. Theoretically

This does not apply to our country

Poland is not in a seismic area

Poland is not located in a seismic area and it does not apply to us, possibly earthquakes may occur but we may not feel it

As a country located in Central Europe, Poland is not particularly vulnerable to earthquakes compared to other regions of the world, such as countries in the northwestern Pacific, where earthquakes occur with high intensity. Nevertheless, Poland is not completely earthquake-free.

In Poland, currently there are no special alarm and warning systems for the population in the event of an earthquake, but there are procedures and action plans in the event of such a phenomenon. There is also a research institute in Poland - the Institute of Geophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences - which studies earthquakes and provides information on seismic phenomena.

Poland is covered by the "Safe Europe" programme, which aims to coordinate actions to prevent threats to the security of citizens, such as earthquakes. Under this program, training and exercises are conducted to increase the preparedness and effectiveness of rescue operations in the event of an earthquake.

In Poland, there are also buildings in which special anti-seismic technologies are used, which increases the safety of people in the event of an earthquake. One of such buildings is, for example, the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw.

It is important that all residents know what to do in the event of an earthquake, including what to do, what steps to take and how to get help. Therefore, in the event of an earthquake threat, it is important that people have access to up-to-date information and guidance from authorities and rescue and safety experts.

Poland is not a country particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, therefore it does not have such an advanced security system as countries located in seismically active areas, such as Turkey or Japan. Nevertheless, in Poland there is the Malopolska Alarm System (MASA), which, if necessary, can transmit information about the threat via text messages or in the radio system. In public buildings (e.g. schools or hospitals), construction standards are applied that take into account possible earthquakes and oblige investors to protect buildings against such an event. However, in the event of a strong earthquake in Poland, there may be difficulties in providing medical assistance and evacuating people from damaged buildings, because we do not have enough equipment, rescue teams and transport in emergency situations.