Stormy Nights and Shaky Foundations: The Alarming Rise of Horizontal Cracks in Apartment Buildings
Urgent Evacuation of A7 Tan Mai Apartment Building Due to Super Typhoon Yagi
Local authorities in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi, urgently evacuated all residents of the A7 Tan Mai apartment building at night to ensure safety from super typhoon Yagi due to the building’s serious deterioration.
According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Gang, a 74-year-old resident of the building, the evacuation occurred around 9:00 p.m. on September 6, with 160 residents relocated to Tan Mai Primary School, 300m from the apartment building, to ensure their safety before the super typhoon made landfall.
Due to the urgent nature of the evacuation, residents were only able to bring essential items. They will be arranged to take refuge at Tan Mai Primary School from September 6 until the storm passes.
The Tan Mai Ward People’s Committee has prepared essential necessities such as instant noodles, drinking water, and blankets for the residents. Working groups consisting of departments and organizations have also been established to support the residents in their relocation.
Following the evacuation, the building was fitted with steel scaffolding for temporary reinforcement.
Background of the A7 Tan Mai Apartment Building
In October 2010, the Hanoi Department of Construction classified the A7 Tan Mai apartment building as a level C hazard, requiring priority renovation. However, after 14 years, the building renovation project has not progressed, leaving residents living in constant fear of the building collapsing.
The building has been experiencing cracking and subsidence, and its entire drainage system has been severely damaged. As a result, water flows into the houses through cracks in the ceiling during the rainy season.
In 2016, some of the building’s roofs were blown off during storms.
Old Apartment Buildings in Hanoi
According to statistics, Hanoi currently has about 1,579 old apartment buildings with 2 to 5 floors, mainly located in Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem districts, and some areas in Hoang Mai and Thanh Xuan.
Most of these apartment buildings have been deteriorating in construction quality and are overloaded in technical and social infrastructure systems, requiring renovation and rebuilding.
However, despite the work of renovating and rebuilding old apartment buildings in the city being studied and assigned tasks for over 30 years, only about 1.2% has been implemented to date.
This leaves residents living in dilapidated apartment buildings and collective houses in a state of fear of their houses collapsing during the rainy and stormy season.
By Kim Thao