2024/3/20 10:09 (updated at 3/20 11:51)
The floor of an arcade of an old building on Wenchang Street in Da’an District, Taipei City suddenly collapsed on the evening of the 19th. The Taipei City Construction Management Office stated on the 20th that it was initially suspected to be caused by neglect of maintenance of the old building; Taipei City Councilor Zeng Xianying, who has no party membership, requested that relevant units should conduct an inventory Check whether there are buildings in similar condition nearby to avoid the same situation from happening again. (Photo taken) Faxed by Central News Agency reporter Huang Liyun, March 20, 113
(Central News Agency reporter Huang Liyun, Taipei, 20th) The arcade floor of an old building on Wenchang Street in Da’an District, Taipei suddenly collapsed last night, affecting 6 motorcycles. Fortunately, there were no casualties. The North City Construction Management Office said today that it was initially suspected to be caused by neglect of maintenance in the old house; city councilor Zeng Xianying requested that nearby buildings be inspected to avoid a similar situation from happening again.
The Bei City police received a report at 10:32 last night that an uninhabited 2-story building on Wenchang Street in Da’an District had collapsed. Officers were immediately sent to the scene to deal with it. After investigation, it was found that the floor of the arcade building had collapsed, causing brick walls and Steel bars were scattered all over the ground, and blockades and traffic control were set up at the scene. Fortunately, no one was trapped or injured, but six motorcycles parked nearby were damaged.
The Taipei City Construction Management Office said in a press release today that after receiving the report of the case, it immediately sent personnel to investigate and deal with the matter together with the Taipei Architects Association.
Wang Jintang, deputy director of the Construction Management Department, pointed out that after investigation, the collapsed building was an old two-story reinforced brick house without a license. It is currently uninhabited. The initial cause of the collapse at the scene was suspected to be that the house was old and neglected to maintain. There were cracks in the wall columns and the arcade floor. The building owner failed to perform their management and maintenance duties well, and the cracks continued to expand, leading to the collapse of the arcade floor. Since the collapsed building was an independent structure, it did not affect the structural safety of the neighboring buildings on both sides.
Since the collapse of the arcade floor may continue, the Construction Management Office stated that after inspection by the association’s architect, it was recommended that the exterior walls, columns, floor slabs and other structures in the arcade area where the public security concerns were concerned should be immediately demolished, and excavators, trucks and other machinery were immediately dispatched to the arcade. The on-site crushing and clearing operations were completed at 3:50 a.m. today. There are currently no immediate public security concerns at the site, and a cordon has been set up to control the entry and exit of personnel.
Yu Jixue, director of the Construction Management Department, said that if the building owner fails to perform his management responsibilities well and causes the building floor to collapse, the owner will be held accountable for violating Article 77, Paragraph 1 of the Construction Law and ordered to complete improvements within a time limit. Article 91 of the same law stipulates that in addition to a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000, if improvements are not made within the time limit, further fines may be imposed.
Independent Taipei City Councilor Tsang Hsien-ying also said through a press release in the morning that there are many businesses on Wenchang Street, and the arcade of the building is often used by people to shop and walk. Fortunately, the collapse occurred late at night, otherwise it would have caused casualties if it had occurred during the day. Relevant units should check whether there are buildings in similar conditions nearby and issue warnings or require structural reinforcements to avoid similar incidents from happening again. (Editor: Chen Renhua) 1130320
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