More Dangerous Block Walls Found in Osaka after Quake

June 25, 2018

Osaka- More concrete block walls violating Japan's building code have been found in emergency investigations conducted by municipalities in Osaka Prefecture following earthquake-induced fatal accidents last week.

Of the five people who died in the 6.1-magnitude quake that rocked the western Japan prefecture and surrounding regions on June 18, two were crushed to death under concrete walls, including a nine-year-old girl.

The fourth-grader at the Juei municipal elementary school in Takatsuki died after a collapsed concrete block wall of the school's swimming pool fell onto her. The wall was later found to violate the building standards law.

An 80-year-old man died due to the collapse of a concrete block wall of a house with safety problems in the city of Osaka.

In its recent inspection, the Toyonaka municipal government confirmed that 66 schools, or 80 pct, of the 85 schools in the city, including elementary and junior high schools, have block walls that violate the standards.

The city found a 4.5-meter-tall wall, over twice the accepted height under the code, at a school. Of the walls meeting the standards, some are tilted and others have big cracks.

"We thought that earthquake-proofing measures had been taken at 100 pct of the local schools, but that was only for the buildings and walls of pools and other structures were not included," a Toyonaka official said.

The Ibaraki municipal government found problems with walls at 36 schools in the city. An official said the city was not aware that old block walls do not meet the current standards.

Meanwhile, the Minoo city government decided to remove all school concrete block walls at nine locations that are facing roads, regardless of whether the structures violate the law.

During the removal work, the schools will suspend swimming classes, according to officials of the Minoo government.

As pools at schools need to be screened from the outside, costs to build alternative steel walls are a problem. A Minoo official called on the central government to provide aid for the sudden expenditure.

Safety measures would not be enough if they are limited to school facilities, because there are numerous block walls along the school routes.

The current building standards, however, cannot be applied retroactively to walls built before the country tightened the regulations.

Japan strengthened the block wall safety standards after many people were crushed to death under collapsed walls due to a massive earthquake in 1978 off Miyagi Prefecture.

If block walls satisfied the building code at the time of their construction, no penalties are imposed even if the structures violate the current code.

This makes it difficult for municipalities to deal with dangerous walls.

A Minoo official said the city will ask owners to make improvements to their block walls if their illegality is significant. But the official added it is impossible to take down private assets.

"As we cannot force (people to remove their walls), we can only set school routes that avoid dangerous areas," an Ibaraki official said.

An expert in regional disaster prevention said that the issue may get complicated if local governments suddenly interfere.

The expert proposed that communities resolve the issue as part of local disaster reduction efforts by working to get residents to share a sense of crisis about dangerous walls. Jiji Press