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Quake force or man's folly

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-05 07:55

There is little doubt that the devastating May 12 earthquake, 8 on the Richter scale, was far stronger than what most of the buildings were built to endure, and that's why they collapsed. Though unfortunate, there is only so much man can do to lessen the damage brought about by nature.

It is difficult to challenge some arguments that not all the collapsed or damaged buildings were defective. The power of the quake and the different soil conditions under different buildings might have caused some to collapse and others to keep standing.

But these facts should not make it any easier for investigators from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Ministry of Education to carry out their duties.

They still have to sift carefully through the debris, especially of collapsed school and hospital buildings, and collect the materials for scientific analysis.

AQSIQ officials have to focus on construction materials, such as steel bars or cement. There is basic consensus that standards were partly to blame, however.

The investigators must also look into dereliction of duty, and even corruption, which may be the main cause for the poor condition of some school and hospital buildings, where large number of lives were lost.

Investigators have to interview all the parties, too, because their testimonials are essential in pinpointing the shoddy buildings among the rubble scattered in the quake-hit areas.

No objective conclusion can be drawn before all the hard evidence, natural or man-made, are gathered, evaluated and analyzed.

Above all, we count on scientists' expertise to find out the real causes of the destruction.

And only their comprehensive findings will help policymakers make informed decisions in the post-quake rebuilding process, such as updating the country's building codes and establishing new procedures for supervising and auditing the construction of school buildings.

(China Daily 06/05/2008 page8)