The last of which is 3 accidents in 24 hours. What's behind Iraq's frequent building collapses?

BAGHDAD – In a new phenomenon in Iraq, the provinces of Baghdad, Anbar (west) and Erbil (north) recorded the collapse of 3 buildings under construction in less than 24 hours, raising many questions about the reasons for the recurrence of these incidents.

The Civil Defense Directorate announced last Sunday the collapse of two buildings under construction that were intended for the construction of complexes and commercial centers in Baghdad and Anbar, and the accident occurred in the Zayouna area (in the center of the capital) during construction work, resulting in the injury of 8 workers.

The second incident was recorded by Anbar province while pouring concrete on the fourth floor of a large shopping mall in Ramadi (the center of Anbar province). Rescue teams were able to take the injured to hospital, without further details on their numbers and the severity of their injuries.

Continuing the series of such incidents, local media reported the collapse of another building under construction in the Erbil governorate of the Kurdistan Region, injuring 11 workers, as the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.

During the past period, the collapse of buildings in violation of safety requirements has been one of the biggest challenges and risks threatening the lives of Iraqis, especially after the collapse of several buildings and the loss of many casualties between dead and wounded during the past few months.

What are the reasons?

The collapses of buildings in Iraq come less than two weeks after warnings issued by the Directorate of Civil Defense about the presence of more than 2500,<> government and private buildings that are about to fall in the provinces of the country, which poses a great danger to the lives of their residents, and indicated that a number of those buildings were evacuated.

The Director-General of the Iraqi Civil Defense, Major General Mohsen Kazem Alak, confirmed – in statements quoted by the semi-official Al-Sabah newspaper – that the buildings that are likely to fall have been identified, and the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and the relevant government departments were informed to take action.

In addition, Al Jazeera Net communicated with specialists to find out the circumstances of the repeated collapse of buildings, as attributed the former Iraqi Engineers Syndicate Sabih Al-Gharawi reasons for this to financial, administrative and technical corruption, and not to put the right person in the right place, he said.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Al-Gharawi said, "In the projects implemented in Iraq, failed tests are passed, with non-compliance with the application of specifications for building materials or safety procedures, as the concrete mixture is not taken into account as required, with the use of rebar with bad specifications."

Government recommendations and actions

In order to avoid the recurrence of collapses, whether in the private or public sector, the former head of the Iraqi Engineers Syndicate stressed the need to adopt standard designs and technical specifications, and to select executors, supervisors and observers with experience, competence and integrity, after granting them salaries and wages that correspond to the financial size of the project, referring to the referral of the implementation of projects to incompetent and dishonest personalities and companies.

Commenting on this, Amanat Baghdad spokesman Mohammed al-Rubaie confirmed that the municipality directed all owners of properties that do not meet the technical conditions or are likely to fall to apply for a demolition and reconstruction permit directed to the municipality concerned with the geographical area that includes the building to avoid any similar incident in the future, noting that Amanat Baghdad and the capital's 14 municipalities are ready to facilitate the granting of demolition and reconstruction permits for buildings that are likely to fall as soon as possible.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Al-Rubaie confirmed that the consulting engineering offices and municipal departments were directed to follow up on the threatened buildings, especially the old and heritage ones, which need to be addressed quickly, pointing to the need to evacuate these buildings because of the danger they pose.

He added that Amanat Baghdad imposed on the owners of buildings in urban planning areas in Baghdad - including Zayouna, Karrada and Dora - a letter pledging that their owners bear the responsibility of remaining standing or not reporting them, pointing to the exception of heritage buildings that are subject to special conditions of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage Law, which can be revived according to special criteria.

The Civil Defense Directorate warned of the presence of 2500 buildings that are about to fall in Iraq (social media)

Lack of safety measures

Brigadier General Jawdat Abdul Rahman, spokesman for the General Directorate of Civil Defense, said the reasons for the repeated collapse of buildings are due to the negligence of workers and poor engineering planning, noting that the main reasons are determined by forensic evidence and not by the Civil Defense Directorate.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, the Brigadier General pointed out that the recent collapse of buildings in Baghdad and Zayouna is due to the absence of individual safety measures for workers related to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and safety officials supervising the sites of these projects, pointing to the lack of statistics on the number of collapses that the country witnessed during the last period.

Since last October, the country has recorded many similar incidents, including the collapse of the building of the National Health Laboratory in the Karrada area (central Baghdad), followed by the collapse of a building dedicated to storing commercial goods in the Waziriya area following a huge fire that broke out in it, while parts of the Rafidain Bank building in Karbala governorate also collapsed, and the death toll of these incidents was dozens of deaths and injuries, including members of the Civil Defense.

However, criminal investigations have not led to any negligent parties, and the government has not announced that those responsible for these buildings have been brought to justice, despite overwhelming appeals and warnings from many institutions that many buildings do not enjoy any safety requirements, especially those that have been built for decades.