Soil liquefaction database
online March 13
By
Yuan-Ming Chiao ,The China Post March 9, 2016, 12:00 am TWN
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A national database
indicating areas of potential soil liquefaction
is expected to come online as early as March 13, according to preliminary reports originating from the Ministry of
Economic Affairs on Tuesday.
When it comes online next week, users
will be able to logon to the site, input their
residential address and receive information regarding the risk of soil
liquefaction in degrees of severity (from green,
yellow to red zones). The issue of soil liquefaction took center stage after
the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Southern Taiwan on Feb. 6, damaging hundreds of
buildings in Tainan, many of which collapsed or leaned to one side.
Officials of the ministry's Central
Geological Survey (CGA, 中央地質調查所)
indicated that national telecommunications
carrier Chunghwa Telecom would be responsible for ensuring that the system
would be able to withstand expectedly high online traffic. Visually, the online
maps will be similar to Google Maps and allow users to see liquefaction zones
in relation to existing roads and buildings.
Initially, eight municipalities and counties will be searchable, including: Taipei
City, New Taipei, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and County, Tainan City, Kaohsiung
City and Pingtung County. Online data for Taichung City, Changhua County,
Yunlin County, and Chiayi City and County is expected to be available by the
end of the year. Residents in Keelung, Hualien and Taitung may have to wait
another two to three years.
12-Story Buildings Erected Between
1982-97 Vulnerable
Meanwhile, members of the R.O.C.
National Architects' Association (NAA, 中華民國全國建築師公會)
expressed the need for stricter implementation
of existing building codes, especially for buildings located in quake sensitive
areas. Speaking at a conference reflecting on the February quake, Deputy
Director of the NAA Cheng Yi-ping (鄭宜平)
stated that structural reinforcement needed to target buildings erected between the years of 1982 and 1997. Government
regulations after this period included more stringent rules
on construction materials and construction on geographically sensitive areas,
Cheng said.
Officials of the NAA expressed
willingness to work with the government to bolster existing
laws to instrumentalize structural improvements.
Many of the buildings that collapsed in
the massive 7.6 magnitude quake of Sept. 21, 1999 were built before the
regulations took effect, with buildings 12 stories and over with only one
underground level being especially vulnerable.
While more stringent building codes have
been in place for close to 20 years now, it was imperative
that they are implemented in the practices of contractors,
architects and inspectors, he added.
Professor Lee An-hung of National Taiwan
University of Science and Technology stated that soil liquefaction maps of
adequate scale (1:5000) needed to be publicized in order to accurately pinpoint
whether construction of disaster relief and evacuation centers were located on
unstable ground.
Structure of the lead:
Who- TAIPEI, Taiwan
When- March 9, 2016
What- Input their residential address
and receive information regarding the risk of soil liquefaction in degrees of severity (from green, yellow to red zones)
Why- soil liquefaction
How-not given
Keywords:
1. liquefaction-液化
2. preliminary-初步的
3. severity-嚴重
4. telecommunication-電信
5. erect-建造
6. stringent-嚴格的；緊迫的
7. bolster-支撐
8. imperative-緊要的
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