In the aftermath of the earthquake in Tainan, President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan will inspect and reinforce old buildings. He was speaking at a prayer ceremony at Chi Nan Temple for the victims of the quake. Tainan’s quake saw 114 die due to a collapse of a residential complex.
During the ceremony, President Ma thanked the rescue workers and countries that gave humanitarian aid to Taiwan. Since earthquakes are unpredictable, he said it is important to work to prevent quake damages.
He cited related efforts in Japan and Taipei. He said the 1995 earthquake in Hanshin led to over 6,000 deaths and over 40,000 injured. Afterwards, Japan worked to reinforce buildings to better withstand the effects of earthquakes. In the 2011 earthquake in Japan, only 90 people died due to the earthquake. The Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant was only 70 kilometers from the epicenter and was not affected by the quake. It was even used as a shelter for victims for a month.
Taiwan also worked to reinforce buildings after the Sept.21 earthquake in 1999. Thus, when an earthquake hit three years late on March 31, no buildings collapsed. President Ma said this reconstruction work is vital to preventing damage and deaths in future disasters.
"This gives me confidence," said Ma. "If we do reconstruction work well, it definitely can minimize deaths and injuries. Taiwan is subject to many typhoons and earthquakes, so this work cannot be delayed."
The government is going to inspect all old buildings. Ma said some people are worried this will affect real estate prices, but he said safety is the priority. He said if people are worried about the safety of their homes, they can apply for an inspection and do necessary reinforcements soon.