No.81 Please confirm the safety of block walls!

On June 18, 2018, an earthquake with a maximum seismic intensity of lower 6, centered in northern Osaka Prefecture, occurred. In response to a request from the National Association of Young Mayors, the city sent blue tarps to Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture.
The damage caused by this earthquake mainly involved roof damage, and the affected area seemed to be relatively limited. However, as reported daily, in Takatsuki City, a block wall of a pool collapsed, resulting in a tragic accident where a child on their way to school lost their life.
In response, the city independently determined that emergency measures were necessary and conducted urgent inspections of block walls at Public Facilities starting from the 19th, the following day. Upon checking all 86 Public Facilities in the city, it was found that 79 locations had no block walls. Of the 7 locations with block walls, 2 met the standards, while 5 did not. The first report was conveyed to the city council on the 22nd of the same month.
At this point, we have promptly posted notices to keep away from walls that do not meet standards, and have taken measures such as contingency funds and Supplementary Budget to decide on repairs within the fiscal year.
Since renovations require significant expenses, there was an option to reinforce only the non-compliant sections and leave the compliant sections as they were. However, considering the degree of aging and other factors, it was decided this time to renovate all sections into fences that are resistant to collapse. Additionally, one location identified after a subsequent re-investigation and the Mannenbei wall, which was excluded from the emergency survey, have also been added.
By the way, regulations regarding block walls were prompted by the Tokachi-Oki Earthquake in 1968, leading to amendments to the Building Standards Act Enforcement Order that were enforced in 1971. Furthermore, following the Miyagi-Oki Earthquake in 1978, additional amendments were enforced in 1981, including restrictions limiting the height to 2.2 meters or less.
Safety measures have been strengthened multiple times after each earthquake disaster; however, since regulations are not applied retroactively, some fences installed before the revision of standards remain as they are.

Additionally, the typical lifespan of a standard block is said to be 30 years with good construction, while the internal rebar begins to rust after about 15 years. Even if it meets the standards, aging may still pose a risk.
The city has decided to conduct a "Hazardous Location Survey Due to Earthquake Damage" to encourage efforts to eliminate hazards not only in the current Public Facilities renovations but also in private residences and facilities within the city.
As announced in the Inagi Newsletter dated August 1, 2018, a citywide survey by city staff has begun and is expected to continue until the end of September 2018. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
The survey targets masonry walls such as block walls, permanent walls, and Oya stone walls that face the road and exceed a height of 1.2 meters.
However, since staff do not have the authority to conduct on-site inspections, this time the inspection was visual from the road, and it may be unclear whether there are buttress walls installed behind the block walls or whether there are reinforcing bars inside the walls.
Therefore, along with the survey, we will distribute a request document titled "Regarding Safety Inspections of Block Walls, etc." for the relevant locations. We ask all citizens to conduct self-inspections and consult experts as necessary.
To prevent tragic accidents, please consider renovations or other measures if a danger is identified.
In addition, the city has a system that subsidizes part of the cost when removing block walls to install hedges, so please consider using this service.