How Many Buildings Will Collapse in Yerevan During a 7-Magnitude Earthquake and What Will This Disaster 'Cost'? - Arakelyan

Former Minister of Social Affairs Mesrop Arakelyan wrote on his Facebook page:

“The imposition of restrictions on the return of income tax will cause serious problems not only in the economy. Housing construction in Armenia addresses not only, and not primarily, economic or social issues, but first and foremost safety concerns. More than 90 percent of our housing stock needs urgent replacement and we must build many, many new apartments, as well as provide numerous benefits for both developers and residents. The state must not only encourage people but also ‘force’ the purchase of new apartments. Any expenditure aimed at promoting housing construction is justified, as it is a crucial expense for internal security. Ultimately, we tend to prefer short-term problems over long-term goals.

In Yerevan, to put it mildly, unregulated housing construction is indeed problematic, but the solution is not a change in the tax code; it is the existence of a master plan for Yerevan, clearly outlining where new buildings will be constructed and when old buildings will be replaced.

And does anyone know how many buildings would collapse in Yerevan in the event of a 7-magnitude earthquake, God forbid, and what this ‘cost’ would be to our nation in terms of such a human and social disaster...? And why this criminal negligence of not considering such scenarios?”