Dangerous dwellings
The collapse of yet another apartment building raises questions about the safety of other old edifices in Cairo. Gihan Shahine sifts through the rubble in search of answers
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Three-year-old Sandra was pulled from the rubble after 10 hours in the arms of her dead mother
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The toppling of an old apartment building in the densely populated Cairo district of Shubra which killed seven and injured eight on Saturday night has again spawned questions about the city's building codes and maintenance regulations. This is the latest in a series of catastrophes affecting old buildings, many of which were damaged in the earthquake that hit Cairo in 1992. In Cairo alone, there are an estimated 705 dilapidated apartment blocks: 397 remain inhabited, 183 were levelled and 125 have been evacuated.
The threat of old homes becoming potential tombs for their inhabitants has sparked public outrage particularly among Shubra residents, who rushed in droves to catch a glimpse of the destroyed building. Many fear that their own abodes may face a similar fate.
"We are all in the same boat," complained a despondent Shubra inhabitant on her way to see the building. "We are living a nightmare. The government must find a solution for this disaster."
The reasons behind the collapse of the six-storey building -- the first two floors of which sank deep into the ground during the collapse -- remain largely ambiguous. As the investigation continues, officials and witnesses are providing conflicting accounts of the tragedy.
Witnesses, mainly the building's residents and neighbours, insist that the apartment building, which was built in 1946, was "perfectly safe" and far from uninhabitable. They blame the unexpected collapse on a sewage project that was completed almost four years ago. Construction work on the new sewage system caused cracks to form in an adjacent building that witnesses said then needed major repairs, which were paid for by the company in charge of the project. Residents told Al-Ahram Weekly that after the sewage project was completed, a committee of district engineers conducted a tour to examine buildings in the area and decreed the building safe.
Cairo Governor Abdel-Rehim Shehata, however, refutes witnesses' claims as "unfounded". He told the Weekly that he was still waiting for a report by engineers on the incident but that he thinks the building's collapse was due to insufficient maintenance. He denied claims that a committee from the district council carried out a recent examination of the building and said the structure had not been registered with the district council -- a statement that inhabitants vehemently rebut.
The Weekly arrived at the scene at noon on Sunday -- the building had toppled the previous night at approximately 8.30pm. Police cordoned off Tosson Street while rescue crews, medics and officials from the governorate surrounded the area. Residents from adjacent apartment blocks were evacuated as a precautionary measure. They spent the night on the street along with survivors from the fallen building who anxiously searched for loved ones under the debris. The surviving residents looked shattered, gazing dismally with tired eyes, red and swollen with tears, as bulldozers scooped up the rubble of their once- cozy homes.
Earlier in the morning, the gloomy atmosphere had brightened when three- year-old Sandra was pulled out of the rubble alive after spending 10 hours trapped in the building's remains. Sandra was found in the arms of her mother, who died while apparently trying to protect her daughter. Sandra's survival was met with a mixture of cheers and tears. Later came the miraculous rescue of an 81-year-old woman who had been caught under the rubble for 20 hours. The woman is said to be in good health.
"We've been through hell," sobbed one of the survivors. "I just can't talk, can't, can't," she mumbled as she waved her hand in the air and rushed away.
Nagwa Abdel-Samie', another survivor, recounts the "great shock and horror" she endured during the collapse. Abdel-Samie', a resident of the sixth floor, was serving fresh drinks to two guests when suddenly she felt the floor collapse beneath her. She saw cement blocks falling over her two visitors, who died on the spot. Abdel-Samie's two young children, who had been studying in their bedroom when the building came crashing down, survived. Her husband, who was on an errand at the time of the collapse, also survived.
"Those were indescribable moments," Abdel-Samie' sighed. "Horror is an understatement compared to how we felt."
Abdel-Samie' and her two children were rescued by her eldest son, 20-year- old Wael, who was standing in front of the building at the time of collapse.
"I suddenly saw the first two floors sinking into the ground and the whole building fell down," Wael told the Weekly. "Most of the building, however, stood intact. I quickly brought a long ladder from a nearby funeral parlour and climbed the building to save my family. Thank God they managed to climb down the ladder safely."
Other witnesses have also said that the building did not fall into pieces until rescue crews bulldozed it in search of survivors -- a fact which suggests that the building was in good condition prior to the collapse.
"The rescuers smashed up our things and turned them into dust," cried a lady clad in a black dress and veil as she mourned the loss of a collection of old Islamic books she had inherited from her father. "The rescuers have ruined everything, everything," she shouted hysterically as she clung to a few of her remaining books. "We don't have anything left except what we're wearing now."
Mohamed Gad, the owner of the building, told prosecutors that he bought the building in 1990. He confirmed witnesses' testimonies that the building was examined and found to be safe after the sewage project was completed. The inhabitants also told the Weekly the building did not have any sewage or maintenance problems and that the owner had been cooperative in making needed repairs.
Veteran urban planning expert Milad Hanna and former head of parliament's housing committee is of the view that disturbances in the soil near the foundation of the building caused by the sewage project ultimately led to the collapse. Hanna explained that the foundation of the apartment block was probably too close to the surface, at a distance of 1.70-2.50 metres deep into the muddy ground, which had been a fruit garden in the early 1940s. Hanna added that the sewage company used modern technology, building a network of pipes deep into the ground which disturbed the soil above. Over time, the resultant pressure led to a large depression in the ground that caused the collapse.
"This is a very rare case in the history of engineering technology," Hanna told the Weekly. "It could have never been detected during the examination of the building, which was probably safe in terms of shape and foundation. No one would have thought to test the soil, which, of course, requires special techniques."
Hanna warns that other buildings in the area may also be at risk and says that a specialised committee should thoroughly examine the subterranean sewage network before another building topples.
The collapse of the Shubra building has sparked a heated debate over the destiny of shoddy, old buildings. Governor Shehata told the Weekly that the complicated issue of decaying buildings ranks high on the government agenda.
"The collapse of the [Shubra] building highlights the danger of uncertified buildings that are not in line with safe building codes," Shehata said. "Again, the tense relations between tenants and landlords stand at the core of the problem."
Almost all housing experts agree that the relationship between landlords and tenants has deteriorated into fierce battles due to the low rent which many long-time residents pay. Monthly rent can be as little as LE2 and LE5 in densely populated areas. Many landlords are disinclined, or find it unaffordable, to maintain old buildings and instead apply for legal permits to raze them altogether. Tenants, on the other hand, are reluctant to leave their homes, even if they are dangerous. A housing crisis has placed lower-income groups in a bind, and many tenants would rather face court battles with landlords over the maintenance of old apartment blocks than search for new homes. So far, the government has been unable to provide enough alternative housing to the tenants of old buildings, most of which are located in highly populated areas.
"[We] do have a project to deal with buildings that are in poor condition," Shehata said. "We have been examining the houses that were affected by the 1992 earthquake and found that we need 2,008 alternative units to house their inhabitants. We have so far established alternative housing complexes in three areas: Al-Muqattam, Al-Nahda and Helwan."
The survivors of the Shubra block, once home to 11 families, were transferred to alternative homes in the state- owned Muqattam blocks. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Insurance has ordered compensation ranging from LE3,000 for families of casualties of the collapse to LE1,000 for those injured.
Despite this, Aisha Hassan, one resident of an evacuated building adjacent to one that fell, remains worried.
"Where would we go if the same happens to our building?" Hassan sobbed. "We had to rush out of the building in our galabiyas. I left the trousseaux and my daughter's furniture in the apartment. Even if the government gives us alternative housing, they won't compensate us for our lost belongings. My husband is an elderly man and we'll never be able to afford the loss. God, what a loss!"
