After the earthquake of February last, Note is taken in China of Chilean earthquake-proof architecture

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The main Chinese media pointed out the high quality of Chilean buildings, which were able to resist one of the strongest earthquakes in history, thus saving many lives.

More than one month after the 8.8 degree Richter earthquake that lashed part of Chile, in China there is consensus that, although it was one of the strongest telluric movements recorded in history, the level of destruction and loss of lives in the South American country was relatively low.

One of the reasons put forward by the experts is the excellent quality of Chilean architecture, prepared to face earthquakes of this magnitude. The Chinese citizen Yuming, who resides in Chile, wrote in his blog "Earthquake resistance of the buildings is very strong."

“Everyone ran out to the street when the earthquake happened. And the local policemen told everyone to go back inside, don’t hide in other places. They said the safest place is in the house. The house can resist even higher magnitude earthquakes. The houses which were destroyed in the earthquake were built by the poor people themselves," he said.

After the earthquake, the newspaper Guangzhou Daily sent to Chile one of its journalists. The professional expressed he was surprised by the level of resistance of the buildings and houses in the country.

“In fact, 99% of the houses in Santiago were saved in the earthquake. There were many houses which had cracks on the walls. But only about 20 houses were badly damaged in the earthquake. 6 million people in Santiago experienced the danger but were not injured," he wrote in an article. “This is a catastrophe, but also an anti-earthquake miracle”, he concluded.

In China, special attention was given to the strict Chilean construction standard, which states that buildings must be prepared to resist earthquakes of 9 degrees in Richter Scale. Also, supervision made by Chilean engineers, the delicate and earthquake-proof design in charge of Chilean architects, and the convenient prices when compared with the Chinese market, were also emphasized.

According to the different newspapers, China should take note of the work of Chilean architects. During the 20th Century, half of the people who died in the world as a result of an earthquake were from China, and within that group, 49% of the deaths or injuries were caused due to collapse of the buildings.