Luanda - Building 236 "São José", located at Avenida Comandante Valódia, in the urban district of Sambizanga, Luanda, was evacuated in the early hours of Friday afternoon due to the poor state of the facility.
According to the Luanda Municipal Administration, the structural problems detected are likely to jeopardize the stability of the nine-storey building, which is home to at least 50 families.
The building is more than 40 years old and has 55 support pillars, five of which show obvious signs of corrosion, ANGOP has learnt.
According to the local authorities, following the preliminary inspection carried out by technicians of the Angolan Engineering Laboratory (LEA), measures were taken to immediately vacate the building.
The Luanda Municipal Administration reports that in a meeting held Friday, with the residents' committee, clarification was given on the procedures for the immediate evacuation of the building to safeguard the safety of the families.
The head of the building's Residents' Committee, Flávio Inocêncio, said that so far they had not been informed about the evacuation procedures, especially about where more than 50 resident families should stay.
The source denied reports of a possible tremor in the building in the last few hours, stressing that they are waiting for the technical report from the LEA so that they can hire a company qualified to rehabilitate the pillars.
ANGOP noted that five pillars have been reinforced with extenders, placed by residents, while technicians from the Luanda government and the Ministry of Public Works, Urbanism and Housing are waiting to intervene.
The authorities have cordoned off the affected building and two others while evacuations are being carried out. Officers from the National Police and the fire brigade are on the scene to coordinate operations. MGM/AB/ART/TED/AMP
