Following the tragic earthquake that struck Taiwan and claimed over 110 lives, experts advised at a forum recently that local authorities should consider renovating old buildings in the island to keep such an incident from recurring.

More than half of the buildings in Taiwan were constructed over three decades ago, Tamkang University, Professor Hsu Wen-hsiung revealed. He added that over a million people are residing in such buildings in Taipei and New Taipei alone.

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Hsu said that it is very dangerous for people to dwell in those buildings, explaining that they cannot withstand an earthquake of more than 6-magnitude on the Ritcher scale. Hu recommended that the local government puts some effort into devising plans to refurbish these buildings as soon as possible.

The 6.7-magnitude quake that hit Taiwan on Feb.6 toppled a 16-storey building - completely blocking a six-lane highway and killing more than 110 people dwelling there.

Lin Ming-hui, the building's developer, as well as two other men from his team ,was arrested for homicide on the grounds of negligence. According to the court, the building was made of substandard steel bars. Furthermore, a number of rectangular commercial cans were also found inside the walls. Authorities also discovered that the building was not made of pure concrete as it was mixed with polystyrene.

Aside from renovating old buildings, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research expert Chiu Yi said that the government should promulgate new laws on construction investment to ensure that the building of structures is strictly monitored.

TagsTaiwan Earthquake, china, earthquakes