Over 800 public school buildings could collapse in strong quakes

[yuiyoshida]

More than 800 public school buildings across Japan are highly likely to collapse in the event of an earthquake measuring upper 6 or greater on the Japanese intensity scale of seven, a report by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has shown.

According to the ministry's report released on June 2, 95.6 percent of the roughly 120,000 buildings and gyms at public elementary and junior high schools across the country had been rendered quake-resistant as of April 1 this year -- up 3.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

However, there remain 5,212 school buildings that have not been reinforced against quakes, among which 814 buildings face the risk of collapse in the event of a temblor registering upper 6 or greater on the Japanese seismic scale.

The ministry has advised 99 local governments that are notably lagging behind in their anti-quake measures to swiftly address the situation, such as by moving up the schedules for projects to make school buildings quake-resistant.

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150602p2a00m0na010000c.html

[gollygee]

1. That's scary!

Ack!