A regulation to strengthen new structures against soil liquefaction would require developers of some buildings to survey geological conditions before construction, the Ministry of the Interior’s Construction and Planning Agency said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that rocked southern Taiwan on Feb. 6, 2016, led to the collapse of Tainan’s Weiguan Jinlong complex, as well as many buildings of fewer than five stories, due to soil liquefaction, the agency said.
To prevent more damage from liquefaction, the agency plans to amend Article 64 of the Building Technical Regulations (建築技術規則), it said.
The change would require developers to survey underground conditions before constructing a building with fewer than five stories in an area with moderate to high liquefaction potential, the agency said.
Until the new regulation takes effect, developers are allowed to cite neighborhood surveys, it added.
Buildings with fewer than five stories typically have foundations with a depth of 2m, while buildings with one-story basements typically have foundations with a depth of 4m, Building Safety Certification Association director-general Tai Yun-fa (戴雲發) said on Saturday.
Sandy soil can be found at a depth of 20m in areas with high liquefaction potential, but buildings with shallow foundations remain more susceptible to liquefaction, especially when there is abundant groundwater or in the event of a massive earthquake, Tai said.
Over the past 12 years, the agency has approved construction permits for about 23,200 buildings annually, which means that the regulation might affect more than 20,000 buildings per year.
Experts have said that construction costs could soar after the regulation takes effect.
A geological survey and review can cost more than NT$1 million (US$32,422), which would be added to a building’s construction costs, New Taipei City Professional Civil Engineers Association chairman James Yu (余烈) said.
Housing prices would certainly rise due to the increased costs, Ba Ba Business chairman Huang Chiung-hui said.
Hualien County on Feb. 6 marked the first anniversary of a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that killed 17 people and injured nearly 300.
After Tamkang University reported that areas near the Milun Fault have high liquefaction potential, the county government said it asked the Cabinet for more than NT$300 million to survey the potential for soil liquefaction across the county.
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