Of about 411 buildings marked for demolition, only 62 have been taken down, and almost 1,000 more that were seriously damaged have yet to be reinforced. Other, equally chilling cases were uncovered:— A heavy steel billboard atop one apartment building had been ruled illegal by authorities since 2010, but was never taken down. Nor has a single apartment building been reconstructed. Toledo counted on his hands the number of demonstrations residents had to stage before the government agreed to rebuild and reinforce their apartment buildings. Authorities refuse, claiming the place was damaged not by the quake but by a subsequent gas explosion.

Source: Washington Post September 18, 2018 03:56 UTC