Beijing, May 19, 2021: A skyscraper in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong southern China, began swaying in the early afternoon hours on Tuesday, prompting a swift evacuation and a safety inspection by engineers.
The incident triggered widespread panic when the 1000 foot SEG plaza, in the tech hub’s Futian district, began shaking and occupants of the plaza along with people on the streets had to be evacuated. Many social media users have since questioned whether the potentially shoddy construction standards are to blame. First responders and emergency management authorities ruled out an earthquake as the reason for the wobble, while officials say no further movement has happened and according to experts they have found no safety anomalies in the structure or the adjacent environment. The plaza remains sealed off.
With its lax construction quality standards and hasty construction due to rapid urbanization, China is no stranger to building collapses, with poor safety regulations in constructions being linked to corruption in local officials. Last year a quarantine hotel collapsed in southern China and this recent incident has further lit up the social media activist landscape with the shaking gaining over 780 million views and thousands of comments. Some users believe the plaza should be demolished altogether while some doubted the ability of modern skyscrapers to tolerate earthquakes.
Completed in the year 2000 and with a population of over 13 million, Shenzhen is a sprawling metropolis, home to a major electronics market and office district. Being the 18th tallest tower in the area, the SEG plaza is named after the Shenzhen Electronics group, a semiconductor and electronics manufacturer according to the council on Tall buildings and Urban Habitat skyscraper database. In order to limit some of the risks associated with the rapid rise of skyscrapers, the Chinese authorities last year banned the construction of skyscrapers taller than 500 meters, adding to height restrictions already enforced in some other cities such as Beijing.
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