The municipality of Tripoli can claim that it has fulfilled its duty. Recently, it issued warnings to several families in the Dahar Al-Maghar neighborhood in the Qobbeh area of Tripoli, urging them to evacuate their homes to avoid putting their lives, as well as the lives of their children and families, at risk. These warnings followed an inspection of the buildings by a technical committee, which confirmed their structural cracks and the possibility of collapse at any moment.
But is a warning enough for the municipality to have done its part? For the residents of the mentioned neighborhood, the technical committee did not reveal anything new; they are fully aware that they live in old apartments and buildings that have not seen any restoration or rehabilitation for years, with visible cracks in their foundations, walls, and ceilings that leak rainwater throughout the winter.
However, they strongly objected to the municipality's notification to leave, considering it an attempt to absolve the municipality of responsibility in case a building collapses, leading to casualties under the rubble. Some residents who received the municipality's urgent evacuation order before a potential disaster noted that they cannot afford to repair their cracked homes due to their difficult financial and living conditions. They complained about the lack of assistance from any party, which places them at risk of death under the ruins of these buildings, one of which collapsed at the end of June last year, resulting in the death of a young girl and injuries to two others.
The residents explained the difficulty of leaving their homes, whether due to their inability to rent elsewhere or the tight living conditions with relatives. They stressed that temporary relocation from their homes lacks clarity on how long it would last, particularly in light of the absence of a plan or vision for the rehabilitation and maintenance of the buildings.
They urged relevant authorities to intervene swiftly to address this issue before it is too late and the risk of building collapses, like those that occurred previously, increases. They questioned the role of Tripoli's representatives in addressing this problem, deeming that "Tripoli needs a decisive and rapid solution before disasters and casualties occur if the problem is not addressed in advance."
It is noteworthy that this development coincided with a conference organized by the Engineers Syndicate in the north last Saturday, in collaboration with the Arab Engineers Union, titled "Cracked Buildings and Their Risk to Public Safety" at the syndicate's conference hall in Tripoli. However, the situation of these buildings and the fate of their residents, as well as the plans for their restoration and rehabilitation, were not discussed, despite reports indicating that at least 600 homes in Tripoli are at risk of collapsing at any moment due to the appearance of cracks and fissures in roofs, walls, and columns.
