Most homes in rural areas are not constructed in a fashion which
allows them to remain standing if exposed to even moderate
earthquakes and in light of that the China Seismological Bureau has
promised to help in rebuilding and retrofitting homes in the coming
years.
"We will launch more pilot projects throughout the countryside
in the next five years which will enable structures to resist
earthquakes measuring up to 6 on the Richter scale," Du Wei,
vice-director of the bureau's Seismic Hazard Prevention and
Mitigation Department, told China Daily in Beijing
yesterday.
The bureau has yet to conduct a nationwide survey of the "quake
proof status" of rural homes but sampling in western China
indicates at least 80 percent of buildings don't have the least
defense against tremors, Du said.
Speaking on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tangshan
Earthquake in Hebei Province, which leveled tens of thousands
of buildings and killed approximately 240,000 people, Du said that
in many areas it was simply impossible for farmers to build safer
houses because of the costs involved. Homes built completely from
brick were the best way forward.
In addition to economics the situation was partly attributable
to lack of guidance from the government, the official observed.
Even when affluent rural dwellers could afford to build safer
homes many went for aesthetics rather than designs capable of
withstanding earthquakes, Du said. As a result it was common for an
earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale to destroy a huge
number of buildings, he added.
At times even relatively minor quakes like the one which
measured 4.2 on the Richter scale and shook Sanshui region of south
China's Guangdong Province in 1997 could cause
tremendous damage, Du explained. Over 1,600 houses were destroyed
on the occasion.??
But homes properly designed and reinforced could make a
difference, Du explained. He highlighted the experience of the
Datong-Yanggao region in north China's Shanxi Province where houses were rebuilt to
resist earthquakes after it was rocked by a tremor measuring 6.1 on
the Richter scale in 1989. Buildings in the region survived a
subsequent 5.8 earthquake two years later, said Du.
In addition to educating farmers the seismology agencies would
work with local governments to launch more pilot quake-proof
housing projects and provide technical services, added Du.
Vice-Minister of Construction Huang Wei said his ministry
supported the idea of improving houses to withstand not only
earthquakes but also other natural disasters like landslides,
floods and typhoons.
(China Daily July 27, 2006)