TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Affected residents of tilted buildings on Dazhi Street in Taipei's Zhongshan District expressed anger toward the city government over ignored petitions to inspect the neighboring Kee Tai construction site.
The buildings tipped and collapsed partially last night, resulting in the emergency evacuation of 35 households. Affected residents have identified nearby construction projects "Kee Tai Dazhi" and "Yueh Dazhi" (Luxury Forest) as potential causes of the incident.
Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an personally visited the site to understand the situation. However, the afflicted households had grave concerns, having started talks with the builders and petitioned the Taipei City Government eight months ago regarding wall cracks and malfunctioning doors and windows. Despite issues being reported, builders only responded with concrete patchwork.
Residents were only notified to evacuate the area half an hour after construction workers received evacuation notices on Thursday evening. This has raised questions about the efficiency of the disaster management system.
City Councilor Chen Yi-chun asserted that the residents' petitions were dismissed, and the government claimed no "safety concerns."
Chen revealed the government's reply letter to the residents' petition on Facebook, expressing dissatisfaction with the statement that there was "no risk to public safety" and "construction could continue."
She criticized the lack of response for eight months and questioned the responsibility of the city government and builders in preventing this disaster that could have been averted.