Experts drawing up guidelines for
tall buildings
The Star 31/3/2005
IPOH: New guidelines are being worked out to ensure that future high-rise
buildings in Malaysia can withstand earthquake situations.
Director-general of Town and Country Planning Mohd Fadhil Mohd Khir said
the guidelines could be finalised between one and two years.
“Currently there are 43 guidelines on buildings and township planning but
none involve the construction of earthquake-proof high-rise buildings,” he
said.
The work to draw up the guidelines would involve various agencies and
foreign consultants, he said, adding that among the tasks were the
conducting of geological studies and identification of high-risk areas.
He told reporters this after the launching of an exhibition of the draft
structural plan for Perak and local plans of the Kinta, Manjung, Perak
Tengah, Hulu Perak, and Selama districts here by Mentri Besar Datuk Seri
Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali yesterday.
Mohd Fadhil said that in countries like Japan and Taiwan, where
earthquakes are common, the construction of the tall buildings required a
strong piling system, and there must be a rubberbased foundation on top of
the pile to handle the impact of earthquakes.
He also said that the proposed guidelines would also include the drawing
up of routes to safer grounds when evacuating people during natural
disasters.
While tremors from earthquakes had been felt in Malaysia in the past, the
intensity an increased number of occurrences was “a new phenomenon which
the country was not prepared for,” he said.
He said that after the undersea earthquake occurred off Sumatra last
December, cracks appeared on the walls of several high-rise buildings and
several large sinkholes also appeared in various parts of Malaysia.
This happened again after Tuesday’s earthquake, he added.
In Kuala Lumpur, Public Works Department directorgeneral Tan Sri Zaini
Omar said the PWD might now have to reassess the structural and safety
aspects of its buildings, especially the high-rise ones.
He is concerned because the high-rise buildings in Malaysia had not been
built to be earthquake-safe.
“In the wake of recent tremors and earthquakes the structural policy
concerning buildings has to be reviewed as a preventive measure,” he said.
Zaini said the department would have to carry out studies on what impact
earthquakes originating from Sumatra would have on buildings in Malaysia.
“There will also have to be a study carried out on tall buildings that
were affected recently due to the tremors and earthquakes,” he said. |
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