Heavy rain in Keelung caused water to enter the basement, and residents accused the management committee of not closing the gate in time

◎ Rao Houle

A few days ago, Keelung received an astonishingly heavy rain, causing water to enter the basements of many communities. Residents blamed the management committee and property management personnel for not closing the waterproof gates in time; diagram. (File photo)

The heavy rain came into force, and Keelung received an astonishing amount of rain. Water entered the basements of many communities, causing incalculable losses. Residents blamed the management committee and property management staff for not closing the waterproof gates in time.

Waterproof gates are already a standard feature of buildings, but the drama of waterproof gates not functioning occurs again and again. In addition to operational and training factors, the decision-making characteristics and adaptability of apartment buildings must also be considered to effectively reduce losses.

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Apartment buildings don't allow for quick decisions like single-ownership buildings. In an equal rights environment, the management committee is only able to handle daily management and maintenance work. The regulations do not stipulate that the management committee or property personnel are authorized to close the waterproof gates when a disaster occurs. This puts us in a dilemma when a flood comes.

For example, the management committee has closed the gate, but when the residents are about to drive out, they threaten that the management committee will be responsible for the damage if the gate is not released. Or someone drives back and finds they can't get into the basement, threatening to make the property management pay for all the risks of parking the vehicle outside. Management committee members or property management personnel are therefore exhausted from disassembling and assembling.

Residents of the community building wonder how long it will rain? How high will the water reach? How is it safer to store the car in the basement or park it on a nearby viaduct? The head of the local government was scolded for misarranging the typhoon holiday, but the apartment building management committee had to bear the huge pressure to compensate for the losses!

To close the waterproof gates of a community building that lacks weather forecasting capabilities and hydrological conditions is a disaster decision that should be made by the government.

The author believes that the government should decide when to close the waterproof gates instead of the community building. (File photo)

Just as the government issues water gate closing messages based on weather information, local government water conservancy units should analyze flooding potential and advise the public on which areas and when waterproof gates should be closed in the future, leaving apartment building residents time to make pre-judgments and preparations for their own needs. As long as the community building closes the gates in accordance with the government warning time in the statute or in the resolution of the separate owner meeting, the management committee or property management personnel do not need to bear the risk of decision-making, and residents do not need to fight over differences in their own needs or subjective judgments. Only the waterproof gate function can be truly displayed.

(The author is the chairman of the Taiwan Apartment Building Management Consultants Association)