The back wall of a two-story brick building in Yangon’s Botataung Township collapsed on Sunday, forcing several residents to evacuate and find temporary housing elsewhere. The building had reportedly been categorized as unsafe by local authorities since 2012.
The back wall of the building fell away from the building and landed in a pile in the alley, leaving a gaping hole in the structure’s exterior. No one was hurt. Ward administrator Thein Than Htun reiterated that the building was unsafe for inhabitants and helped arrange their evacuation.
“A slab of the kitchen wall came down completely and also damaged the lower-floor walls. No one was hurt. We’ve informed the authorities, including the township’s MP May Soe. She contacted the Yangon City Development Committee, and its secretary Hlaing Maw Oo came to supervise the temporary relocation processes for residents of the building,” Thein Than Htun told Eleven.
According to local authorities, the relocation process has been smooth. When Coconuts visited the building today, a ground-floor office on the front side of the building was still open and operating.
Yangon is home to many deteriorating buildings, including 1,666 that are officially categorized as such. Many were built when Myanmar was a British colony and have survived decades of neglect. In August 2016, a Tamwe Township hospital collapsed and killed one worker. In January 2017, a colonial-era residential building, also in Botataung, collapsed, though no one was hurt.
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