Collapse reveals need to check poorly built homes

On Monday morning, the partial collapse of a residential building, built two decades ago, led to four deaths in the city of Zunyi in Southwest China's Guizhou province. It is the second incident of its kind in the city and the fifth nationwide within a month; a total of 22 people were killed in these collapses.

It is no exaggeration to describe these as disasters from the blue. Those who lost their lives will never know the true cause of their homes' collapse. But for those who survived the incidents and are now homeless, a thorough investigation needs to tell them what caused their homes to disappear without warning.

Residents who are aware of quality problems of their buildings need to be convinced about the safety of such buildings, which means related departments should conduct thorough quality checks of the overall condition of the buildings and make sure any problems identified are addressed.