IS IT SAFE TO BUILD ON A FAULT?
What is a fault? A fault is a discontinuity in the rock where one side has moved relative to the other.
Faults are considered by many to be dangerous, but what about Malta? Malta has many geological faults that criss-cross the islands. Most are normal fault where one block has gone down relative to the other block. However, many are inactive.
Most people, including engineers think that a discontinuity in rock is a fault. This is incorrect, since many discontinuities do not have movement associated with them. Faults are identified by special features associated with them. This is where the geologist is needed to identify whether the discontinuity in the rock is a fault or not.
Although many faults in Malta are inactive, some have been reactivated by recent tectonic movement of Africa with respect to Europe. Fault reactivation usually results in a normal fault becoming a strike-slip fault where one side slides past the other side. These faults can pose problems for buildings over them.
Legal framework
There are no laws requiring the identification of faults in Malta prior to a construction. The only reference to discontinuities in rock mentioned in the law is Legal Notice 623.06 which refers to 'fissures', which are not faults. This serious omission in Malta's laws can be fatal in case of weak material associated with faults and reactivated faults.