Residents at Ka On Court on Estrada de S. Francisco who were evacuated after a landslide last Thursday evening have slammed the government for failing to provide proper follow-up measures to help them.
They complained that they have neither been informed when they can move back in, nor whether the building is still suitable for habitation. As yet, they have received no official response.
However, the government says that it has launched emergency work to consolidate the area where the landslide occurred, saying that it can only start to repair the remains of the old city wall, part of which was damaged by the landslide, after ensuring that the area is safe and stable again.
The landslide struck a construction site for a private residential project in Estrada de S. Francisco. The site is next to the government’s project to build an infectious disease building, which will be a new part of the Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre.
The landslide, which was triggered by heavy rain, also affected the remains of the old city wall there, which is around 50 metres long.
On Friday, the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) and the Public Works Bureau said that they have started emergency repairs to ensure residents’ safety. The bureaus described the conditions of the area as “complicated” as it is close to the remains of an old city wall, which is an officially-listed cultural heritage site.
DSSCU officials have provisionally concluded that the landslide did not cause “immediate” danger to the structure of Ka On Court.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) insisted that it has made various suggestions and requirements for two construction projects which are located near the remains of the old city wall.
The IC also said that during a previous project to repair the remains of the old city wall, bureau officials gained an understanding of the materials and methods used to construct the wall. After the hill area there is consolidated , the IC will start to repair the remains of the wall.
IC President Leong Wai Man said that the landslide affected around 18 metres of the 50-metre remains of the old city wall. She underlined that the IC can only start repairing the remains of the wall after ensuring that the area is safe and stable.
Leong said that the government will assess which entity is possibly to blame for the landslide after it completes the consolidation work and repairs of the remains of the wall.
Due to the two construction projects, Leong said that her bureau has set up monitoring equipment in the area to detect any abnormalities that could affect the state of the remains of the wall. However, Leong said that prior to the landslide, her bureau did not detect any abnormalities in the data collected from the devices, The Macau Post Daily reported.
