1. Home
  2. Update

It took a deadly earthquake to get Taiwan's attention, but now it's demanding safer buildings

Source(s): Los Angeles Times
Upload your content

Eliot Shen, project manager for a property developer in Taipei, has installed buffers under a new corkscrew-shaped, high-end apartment tower. The goal is to stop Taiwan’s frequent earthquakes from sending destructive energy upward into the building.

[...] 

Shen may be ahead of the curve. Countless cost-wary property owners in Taiwan have sidestepped quake safety over the decades despite numerous warnings and disasters. But after a deadly quake Feb. 6, the central government said it would require reviews of more than 34,000 existing structures and, for the first time, make their owners ensure safety. Officials had only recommended upgrades before.

Taiwan’s Cabinet announced those measures last month, along with pledges to quicken disaster response times. Most of Taiwan’s 23 million people live in multilevel buildings like the four that partly collapsed in the Feb. 6 quake, fanning fears of more disasters.

[...]

Read the original story here

Editors' recommendations

Explore further

Hazards Earthquake
Themes Governance Structural safety
Country and region Taiwan (China)
Share this

Please note: Content is displayed as last posted by a PreventionWeb community member or editor. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of UNDRR, PreventionWeb, or its sponsors. See our terms of use

Is this page useful?

Yes No Report an issue on this page

Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window).