Tian Shiyu of China Engineering Consultants, an industry association, told the Global Times Tuesday that hollow brick constructions are easy to collapse.

The majority of local homes torn apart during the earthquake were built before 2008 with hollow bricks, Zuo Qiangguo, a county spokesman, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"It's cheaper to use hollow bricks than ordinary ones in construction," Zuo said.

A hollow brick sells for 1 yuan ($0.15) while but 0.5 yuan ($0.08) for an ordinary one. However, eight ordinary bricks are needed to fill the space of a hollow brick, local resident Yue Yanbao told the Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily.

The newspaper said unlicensed construction workers built many homes because of their low salary.

The local government announced a rebuilding project to improve pre-2008 built structures.

However, just 60 percent of the buildings deemed to be unable during earthquakes were rebuilt as of last year because villagers were reluctant to spend 10,000 yuan ($1,521) to fix them.

"Quality inspection should be tightened and villagers should learn more about earthquake prevention," Tian told the Global Times.