SEISMIC VULNERABILITY, DAMAGE AND STRENGTHENING OF MASONRY STRUCTURES IN THE BALKANS WITH A FOCUS ON BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Two countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and Croatia, which are in the focus of the article, suffered damages from strong earthquakes in the past. Devastations were evident during earthquakes that struck this region in the past 100 years, of which the most important ones were Skopje earthquake in 1963, Banja Luka in 1969 and Petrovac in Montenegro in 1979. It is clear that structural assessment of these structures and possible seismic strengthening represents a high priority not only in B&H but in the entire Western Balkans as the construction technology and history of construction are the same in the whole region. Available information regarding building stock and building typologies in both countries show that the traditional art of construction are mostly masonry buildings. Distribution of vulnerable building stock is required to assess the seismic vulnerability of the area under consideration. Analytical seismic vulnerability method applied in B&H is presented. As some experiments in this research area were provided in both countries and some of the experiments are underway, few examples are given in order to gain insight into the behavior of masonry buildings and the selection of strengthening technique. Possible strengthening techniques for an existing structure are presented and elaborated giving possible guidelines for possible strengthening of similar existing structures in both countries.