Simplified Vulnerability Assessment of Historical Churches in Banat Seismic Region, Romania

Romania, a mid-eastern European country, has a moderate seismicity and a large stock of historical buildings and churches. One of the most important seismic areas of the country is the Banat area, which ranks as the second most seismic area in Romania, with shallow earthquakes of crustal type. Many Orthodox and Catholic churches can be found in the area, the majority of them having a central nave. The churches are built in masonry, with vaults and wooden frameworks, and they present valuable architectural-artistic details, including paintings made by recognized painters. Various forms of structural damage appeared to the historical churches after past earthquakes, depending on the architectural configuration. This paper illustrates a study made on six historic churches in the Banat region, to investigate seismic vulnerability with simplified methods. The study highlights the most vulnerable points of the historic religious structures and the importance of investigating in a quick and simplified way the seismic behavior of such important buildings for the local community. Moreover, the main novelty of the paper is the highlighting of the importance of the sustainability aspect in the process of heritage preservation, as simplified assessment procedures are essential for more resilient risk reduction policies.