The Sail. The Flyer. One Raffles Quay. We're building all the nice and jazzy buildings to spice up our coastline and skyline, but they may not be as strong as we might need them to be. Here's what the experts are saying:
"... Dr Spranger also pointed out that cities sited away from tremor-prone zones are not necessarily immune to the devastating effects of earthquakes.
He cited the case of Mexico City. 'In 1985, a quake occurred off the Mexican coast. About 300km away in Mexico City, buildings collapsed, and there were 10,000 fatalities.
'Between the coast and Mexico City, you didn't feel the earthquake.'
In Singapore's case, the Republic is vulnerable to certain shockwaves that can travel long distances, he said.
'Only the long waves arrive and they affect mostly high-rise buildings and especially those built on reclaimed land.
'In that respect, the risk has changed because Singapore has a lot more high-rise buildings on reclaimed land now.'
He said that these 'long waves' or low-frequency waves could 'amplify when they reach soft ground'.
... Another prime example was the quake in China's Sichuan province in May. Nearly 70,000 people died, 18,000 went missing, 375,000 were injured and about five million were left homeless.
Dr Spranger said this part of Sichuan had never been considered high-risk, compared to cities near other fault lines.
'This area that was affected is on the same class of expected shaking as Hong Kong, and probably Singapore,' he said.
... 'What is certain is that our buildings are not designed to withstand earthquakes. It is time everybody takes a good look at this.' "
- The Straits Times, 12 Sept 08
And He knows best.
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