GUANGZHOU: Old and shoddy buildings that fail to meet earthquake-resistance standards in this southern mainland city will be demolished, a senior official with the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Seismology warned yesterday.

Citing many residential and school buildings being destroyed in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Sichuan province on May 12, Liang Gan, the authority's deputy director, said: "It is urgent for Guangzhou to make sure buildings can withstand natural disasters, such as massive earthquakes."

Guangzhou, which has a history of more than 2,000 years, has many ancient arcade-houses, or qilou, in old urban areas.

"An overall safety evaluation on these buildings is necessary," he said.

The local municipal government has been examining the quake-resistance capability of old houses over the last few years and a city-wide renovation project will soon start.

"Houses with no quake-resistance capability will be definitely pulled down. Also, buildings that cannot survive quakes measuring 6.0 or above will be strengthened," Liang said.

There have been 11 quakes of 6.0-magnitude or above in Guangdong and its coastal areas during the last century, according to the historical resources of the Guangdong Bureau of Seismology.

"Although Guangdong is not situated along an active seismic belt, we have been alert to signs of earthquakes," said Liang.

According to Liang, Guangdong has established a province-wide digital earthquake monitoring system.

"We can measure an earthquake within 10 minutes after it happens," he said.

According to Liang, residential buildings in Guangdong are designed to resist earthquakes of up to 6.0 magnitude.

Liang added that construction of buildings of 80m or higher has to be approved by the seismological bureau.

"Buildings, no matter tall or low, must abide by earthquake-resistance standards established," Liang said.

According to Liang, Guangzhou currently has only three refuges: the Chen Clan Temple, Dongfeng Park and Xiaogang Park.

"We do hope to designate more areas closer to residential districts as refuges," Liang said.

Since the May 12 earthquake, quake-resistance capability of new houses has become one of the top concerns of potential homebuyers.

According to a recent online survey by Soufun.com, more than 75 percent of the interviewees expressed that they considered "quake-resistance capability" the most crucial factor in their decision to buy a house.

(HK Edition 06/11/2008 page1)