New NUS centre to study effects of natural disasters on S'pore buildings

23 November 2007 (TODAY)

SINGAPORE: Our buildings may shake when earthquakes occur in the region, but it is "highly unlikely" they will fall. But would they be safe years down the road?

That is what the new Centre for Hazards Research at the National University of Singapore (NUS) aims to find out.

Launched on Thursday, the centre will study the short- and long-term effects of natural disasters on structures and infrastructure.

The centre's director, Associate Professor Lee Fook Hou, said: "I am pretty sure our buildings are safe now, but I can't assure you they will always be. The aim of our research is to reduce that margin of uncertainty."

Comprising 20 local and three foreign academics and researchers, the centre will start work on the impact of earth tremors because that is something "closest to our hearts", noted Assoc Prof Lee.

Through experiments and the investigation of data collected, the centre aims to develop new technologies to counter potential risks to the safety of structures.

"While natural hazards are inevitable, we can focus on using good science to prevent them from becoming disasters," said Assoc Prof Lee. "The idea is to find new ways to improve structures."

This would prove especially useful to companies looking to venture into earthquake-prone areas, he added. The centre will eventually move into research on other dangers such as typhoons and floods.

Another goal of the centre: To become an information and resource hub on natural disasters for Singapore and the region.

By providing "accurate and reliable answers" on why buildings behave the way they do during earthquakes, people here will be more knowledgeable about the effects of natural disasters and be in "a calmer state of mind because they know they are safe", said Assoc Prof Lee.

There are plans to launch a website to provide near real-time information when natural disasters occur, he added.

Several industry players have expressed interest in working with the centre by providing technological assistance or data. - TODAY/ym

Editor's Note: Finally they admit that Singapore is vulnerable to Natural Disasters. It's about damn time!

Bangkok to be declared an earthquake risk zone

15 September 2007 (channelnewsasia)

BANGKOK : Thailand is drafting regulations to declare Bangkok an earthquake-prone zone after the capital felt the effects of a recent 8.4-magnitude quake in Indonesia, a government official said Saturday.

The new law would require all new tall buildings in Bangkok and surrounding provinces to be quake-proof. It has been drafted by the interior ministry and is currently being reviewed by Thailand's top legal experts.

"Bangkok's soil is soft and it generates more tremors," said Worawoot Tantiwanit, a senior official with the mineral resources department.

"In the most recent major earthquake in Indonesia on Wednesday, people in high rise buildings in Bangkok clearly felt the effects," he told AFP.

Worawoot said his department was currently studying the risks posed to the capital by three fault lines within a 100-kilometre (62-mile) radius of Bangkok.

Ten of Thailand's 76 provinces are currently listed as earthquake-risk zones, mostly in the northwest.

The proposed law would add 12 central and southern provinces to the list.

In May, a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck western Laos near the border with Thailand, sending people fleeing into the streets after high-rise buildings rocked and swayed in Bangkok. - AFP/ch

Comment: Should Singapore do a similar study?

Authorities confirm vegetables in Singapore safe to eat

By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
27 August 2007 2325 hrs

SINGAPORE: Vegetables available in Singapore are not affected by the cancerous pesticide found on vegetables in Selangor.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority says imported vegetables are put through a comprehensive checking system to make sure they are safe to eat.

Singapore imports 48 per cent of its vegetables from Malaysia.

Through a five-year study, researchers in Malaysia have recently found that some popular greens are highly contaminated with cancer-causing pesticide residues.

All celery and curry leaf samples taken from a wholesale market in Selayang were tested positive for three groups of pesticides.

At least 40 per cent of spinach, kangkong, round cabbage and Chinese mustard samples were tainted.

Scientists think the crops were harvested too early, before the pesticides could disintegrate.

They say potential health risks are small, as consumers will wash and cook the vegetables before eating. - CNA/ac

Greenpeace: No Safety Sureties For 'ring Of Fire'

Aug 24 2007 (TODAY)

Environmental group Greenpeace urged South-east Asian energy ministers
yesterday to scrap plans to harness civilian nuclear power for the region,
citing safety concerns and weapons proliferation risks.

"It is a dangerous and costly choice to secure energy in the region
because nuclear power plants pose risks in the long term," said Ms Nur
Hidayati, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace South-east Asia.

"Our region is very dynamic - geographically we are located around the
Pacific 'Ring of Fire' and we are also the meeting point of several major
tectonic plates," she went on. "You cannot guarantee the safety of the
nuclear power plant in this volatile region."

Greenpeace activists also said the region does not have the expertise and
the trained personnel to operate nuclear power plants, and warned of the
dangers that plutonium - a key ingredient for making a nuclear bomb -
could get into the wrong hands.

Greenpeace said Asean states also lacked experience in storing and
disposing of radioactive wastes. - Agencies

After The Floods, Illness Looms

Aug 11 2007 (TODAY)

DHAKA - Health workers in Bangladesh battled diarrhoea and cholera on
Friday as international aid began to flow into South Asia to help millions
lacking water and food after the worst monsoon floods in decades.

The death toll was well above 2,000 on Friday with at least 16 more
deaths reported in Bangla-desh and 19 in India's Bihar state overnight.

Rains have halted from southern Nepal to Bangladesh in the east. The focus
now is on combating a host of water-borne diseases, health officials said.

At Bangladesh's biggest diarrhoea hospital in the capital Dhaka, doctors
like Mr Alejandro Cravioto were working around the clock amid hundreds of
extra beds under tents to help flood victims.

"It's like a war-zone situation," he said.

Several countries and international agencies have pledged assistance and
money to help victims in South Asia, including the European Union which
has put up an initial four million euros ($8.3 million).

Meanwhile, a senior United Nations official said that serious flooding
affects 500 million people every year.

He said that it has become a major problem not just in Asian countries
with annual monsoons and typhoons, but in countries like Sudan, Colombia,
Ethiopia and Afghanistan. According to the UN, 83 per cent of disaster
victims last year lived in Asia.

Assistant Secretary-General Margareta Wahlstrom, the UN deputy emergency
relief coordinator, added that floods and weather-related disasters
accounted for 59 per cent of all reported disasters last year.

Between 2004 and 2006, there was an increase from 200 to 400 emergencies,
with the number of floods increasing from 60 to over 100, she said. This
year, there have been about 70 floods up to August, she said.

The UN cited as examples the July heat wave in Europe, the cyclone in Oman
in June, and floods this summer in Sudan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, South Asia,
Afghanistan and Colombia. - Agencies

Floods: India, Nepal Trade Blame

Aug 7 2007 (TODAY)

Neighbours say each others' dams are responsible

KATHMANDU - India and Nepal blamed each other yesterday for some of the
worst flooding in South Asia in decades, which has affected 25 million
people and left rescuers scrambling to help victims.

Officials in Bihar, the Indian state worst affected by the inundation,
said neighbouring Nepal had failed to build dams to control water surging
down from the Himalayas.

But Nepal hit back immediately, claiming that Indian dams were to blame
for the flooding in Nepal.

"We can't do anything about the amount of water coming from Nepal," said
Ms Purna Kumari Subedi, Member of Parliament for Nepal's Banke district,
which borders Bihar.

"The same thing happened last year. Because of the dam constructed at
Laxmanpur on the Indian side, a lot more land on the Nepali side was
extremely flooded, affecting thousands of people," said Ms Subedi.

Nepal's foreign ministry said India could have helped to alleviate the
flooding upstream in the Himalayan kingdom. "Some of the Terai plains
areas bordering India were flooded because dams on the Indian side were
kept closed," said Mr Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Nepal's foreign ministry
spokesman.

In Nepal, at least 91 people have died in landslides and floods since the
beginning of June, officials said. Some 270,000 people have also been
affected, mostly in the southern plains bordering Bihar.

Over in Bihar, the flooding has affected 11.5 million people, while more
than 90 people have died in the last two weeks. The state's disaster
management chief, Mr Manoj Srivastava, said more than 6,000 villages were
submerged, but added that the waters appeared to be receding.

Meanwhile, Bihar authorities have sought federal government intervention
to tackle the issue with Nepal, claiming excessive water flow had engulfed
hundreds of villages in the Indian state that in the past had been
unaffected by flooding.

"We have written to the Prime Minister to take up the issue with the
Nepalese authorities," said Bihar's chief minister, Mr Nitish Kumar.

"Floods are an annual feature because all rivers originating in the upper
regions of the Himalayan kingdom send massive amounts of water, especially
into northern regions of the state," Mr Kumar told reporters. - AFP

NTU researchers use canvas strips to fortify buildings against quakes

By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia
14 June 2007

SINGAPORE : Just two extra seconds could make a difference between life and death, especially during an earthquake.

Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University have come up with an invention that can buy that time - by strengthening the way walls are erected in buildings.

When the earth shakes, buildings collapse, especially if they are poorly constructed.

And that is where these engineers believe they can make a difference.

The best part about their invention is that it doesn't require any high-tech equipment.

All that's needed are a few strips of canvas and glue.

Associate Professor Ting Seng Kiong, who is also director of LIEN Institute for the Environment at Nanyang Technological University, explained: "We put the canvas on the edges, and in a cross.

"During an earthquake, the building will shake and sway. When it sways in one direction, one of the crosses will act in tension, and pull it towards the other direction. It's a simple design. What we did is use canvas and glue, and stick it onto the brick wall."

Researchers find that the wall reinforced with canvas and glue can withstand twice as much shaking compared to other walls.

That translates to more time to escape as well as less danger of injuries from falling bricks in the event of an earthquake.

And the added cost? It's just an additional 10 percent to current building costs.

This fits in with LIEN Institute's philosophy of creating sustainable research without extravagant prices.

"What's important is that it has to be a case appropriate to the community where we are going to apply it to, in terms of materials available and cost," said Pan Tso-Chien, Dean of College of Engineering at Nanyang Technological University.

The institute is already working with two aid groups in Indonesia to reinforce homes and schools using canvas and glue.

They also plan to collaborate with local groups to send their students overseas to help erect more buildings using this method. - CNA /ls