Quake effect: DBKL will not inspect all buildings
Pauline PuahPublished: Apr 5, 2005 7:09 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will survey high rise buildings only if they receive complaints from the public or building management who have doubts about the safety of a particular building following last week's powerful tremors.
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will survey high rise buildings only if they receive complaints from the public or building management who have doubts about the safety of a particular building following last week's powerful tremors.
A DBKL spokesperson said checks will be carried out on a case-by-case basis as there are too many buildings in the city for a complete check.
If a complaint is received, he said a team consisting of architects, engineers and building surveyors would be sent to inspect the buildings and will then give advice to the management of the buildings.
"We will only inspect the buildings. If we find that anything needs to be repaired, then we will advise the management," he said when contacted
He added that if there are any cracks found on the buildings, then it is the responsibility of the management to fix the problem.
"So far we haven't received any complaints that the management of a building refuses to fix the problem," he said, adding that only tenants can pressure the management to fix the problem.
Following the tremors from the massive earthquake which struck off Sumatra, panic hit the city and other states here when buildings began trembling.
'Visually' safe
As for Kuala Lumpur, DBKL has thus far inspected 15 high-rise buildings and all of them were found to be safe.
"No damage was involved. There were hairline cracks on a few walls but it is believed to have been there even before the quake," said DBKL public relations office Hanim Hashim in a press statement yesterday.
She said the strength of the buildings, based on a virtual survey, was not jeopardised and the effect of the tremor was minimum.
"These buildings, visually, are safe. But high rise buildings should be checked on a long term basis to ensure the structure of the buildings was not affected," she added.
A DBKL spokesperson said checks will be carried out on a case-by-case basis as there are too many buildings in the city for a complete check. If a complaint is received, he said a team consisting of architects, engineers and building surveyors would be sent to inspect the buildings and will then give advice to the management of the buildings.
"We will only inspect the buildings. If we find that anything needs to be repaired, then we will advise the management," he said when contacted
He added that if there are any cracks found on the buildings, then it is the responsibility of the management to fix the problem.
"So far we haven't received any complaints that the management of a building refuses to fix the problem," he said, adding that only tenants can pressure the management to fix the problem.
Following the tremors from the massive earthquake which struck off Sumatra, panic hit the city and other states here when buildings began trembling. 'Visually' safe
As for Kuala Lumpur, DBKL has thus far inspected 15 high-rise buildings and all of them were found to be safe.
"No damage was involved. There were hairline cracks on a few walls but it is believed to have been there even before the quake," said DBKL public relations office Hanim Hashim in a press statement yesterday.
She said the strength of the buildings, based on a virtual survey, was not jeopardised and the effect of the tremor was minimum.
"These buildings, visually, are safe. But high rise buildings should be checked on a long term basis to ensure the structure of the buildings was not affected," she added.
View Comments0