BR549 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:19 pm
There was a house warming in Kampong Cham not long ago with similar design and it collapsed on some old ladies at the party.

Bit different. It was a concrete slab extending well over a meter without any supporting columns or iron frame.

PM Announces Compensation for Victims of Kep Building Collapse
AKP Phnom Penh, January 04, 2020 --

Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HE has through his social media announced the compensation package for the building collapse victims in Kep provincial city yesterday afternoon.

According to his Facebook comment this afternoon, Samdech Techo HE said to ease the hardship of the victims and their families, he decided to compensate the injured with 40 million Riel or US$10,000 each and the dead with 200 million Riel or US$50,000 and 10 more million Riel or US$2,500 for the funeral.

At the same time, Samdech Techo HE expressed his gratitude to all charitable people for their contribution to the compensation.
AKP

The truly sad thing about this is that almost nobody building these structures has any of the physics behind what they are doing or why they collapse.

Columns are a composite construction, with the cement providing the matrix and the rebar providing the strength through tension. Everyone who sees rebar knows it can easily bend and flex. In isolation, it couldn't hold up a few kilograms. But the fact that it can not be stretched, means if you connect 2 pieces together in a concrete matrix, then if you try and bend one piece with a small radius, another connected piece will actually have to stretch to form a longer radius.

It is that tension which provides all the structural rigidity. But ask any of the guys building these structures, even the engineers, and they could not even explain that simple principle. If there are voids in the concrete columns, or if there is not enough surface area between the steel rebar and concrete to transmit the necessary force between rods, then that second piece of rebar can buckle or slip in response to changes in the first. The instant that happens you lose the rigidity from tension and you just get a few pieces of flexible steel trying to hold up tons. Soon after that, the building collapses.

There is no way to provide oversight either, because the government officials also don't understand the physics behind the construction. So they can't even reliably inspect anything. What you get is a country of untrained technicians copying a design they saw once without understanding how and why it worked. As property values go up and buildings get bigger in order to provide ROI, the destruction becomes serious.

I think it is great the HE is giving money to the families, but I think he also needs to require certification for construction workers, and that has to include at least a basic understanding of the physics behind their craft.

Rescue efforts continue without much hope for finding survivors now.

Ten dead in Cambodia building collapse, more trapped
By Channel News Asia -
January 5, 2020
At least 10 people were killed and 23 injured after a building in Cambodia collapsed, trapping workers under rubble, officials said on Saturday.

The seven-storey concrete building collapsed on Friday in the coastal town of Kep, about 160km southwest of the capital Phnom Penh.

It came a year after another construction site collapsed, killing 28 people in Preah Sihanouk province.

In full: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/as ... d-12233058

CEO News: CEO News had reservations about the death toll given in the article below, which is way over that reported in the local media; but the report says the information is from Reuters, a serious news source.
Edit: Local news sources are now saying that 36 bodies have been recovered. (See post below this one.)

Death Toll Rises to 24 in Cambodia Building Collapse, Some Still Trapped
Jan. 4, 2020, at 8:38 p.m.
More
U.S. News & World Report
Reuters
By Prak Chan Thul

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - At least 24 people were killed and 23 injured after a building in Cambodia collapsed, trapping workers under rubble, officials said on Sunday.

The seven-storey concrete building collapsed on Friday in the coastal town of Kep, about 160 km (100 miles) southwest of the capital Phnom Penh.

It came a year after another construction site collapsed, killing 28 people in Preah Sihanouk province.

"Twenty-four people have died so far," Kep governor Ken Satha told Reuters. "Three of the bodies are not yet at hospital, they have not been pulled out yet."

An unknown number of workers remained trapped, Satha said, adding that authorities had detained a Cambodian couple, the owners of the building, for questioning.

Prime Minister HE said on Saturday that rescuers were still struggling to reach those missing in the rubble.

Cambodia is undergoing a construction boom to serve growing crowds of Chinese tourists and investors.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Copyright 2020 Thomson Reuters.

Fresh from government news source Fresh News:
BREAKING NEWS (Final): 59 Found in Rubble of Cambodia Building Collapse; 36 Dead
05/01/20 12:04
Kep (FN), Jan. 5 – An under-construction building in the coastal province Kep, about 170 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, collapsed around 4:30 pm on 3 January 2020.

As of 11:40 a.m on 5 January, authorities have found 59 victims under the rubble; 36 deceased (14 females).

Kun Kim, first vice president of National Committee Disaster Management, announced to close rescue operation.
FRESH NEWS

Photos of the site can be found here: http://www.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/ ... 45-58.html

Substandard building materials may be reponsible for this tragic event, but who is to blame for their use ? The owners, the contractors, or the officials who gave them a permit ?
For sure, the lack of oversight by government officials has lead to a number of dangerous constructions, and it is urgent that the Cambodian authorities start to enforce rules and guidelines to all construction sites, particuarly when they are more than two or three floors.

Source: Inferior construction materials blamed for building collapse
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50676808/i ... g-collapse

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Sun Jan 05, 2020 3:27 pm and it is urgent that the Cambodian authorities start to enforce rules and guidelines to all construction sites, particuarly when they are more than two or three floors.

Yeah fucking right. That would mean using logic. Never gonna happen.

RIP

here in nam ive watched a building being built from scratch 15 guys on site all suited and booted there on the 1st level already in 2 weeks.

Amazing