Four heritage sites at risk of collapse, IC admits

Damaged structures at Saint Augustine Church

There are four heritage sites which are endangered, the head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Department of Cultural Heritage, Leong Wai Man, admitted during a meeting with journalists yesterday at the D. Pedro V Theater.
Leong was replying to journalists during the presentation of the outcome of the investigation regarding the collapse of the partial roof of Saint Augustine Church, which occurred on May 29 after heavy rains.
According to Leong, “after the accident, the IC created a special group to inspect and evaluate other sites,” finding that another four were at risk. Those are Saint Anthony’s Church, Saint Joseph’s Seminary Church, Our Lady of Penha Chapel and the Ox Warehouse.
Due to the concern that another collapse may occur, the IC will perform maintenance works on site, adds Leung.
As for the repair of the damaged roof and adjacent structures of the affected church, Leong said the works would last for the next three months.
“After that, we will conduct a full inspection of the whole church,” said Leong. “This inspection would have the purpose of ensuring that all structures are secure and there is no risk of a similar event occuring again.”
The main cause is reported by Leong to be “the impacts caused by heavy rain” together with the fact that the “building is old.”
“The rain damaged the main beam and also made a hole in the wall where the beam was inserted, leading to the cause for the collapse.”
Leong recalled that last month, there were several rainstorm warnings, which highlight the fact that the situation was “unusual” and “unexpected.” She added that the IC does regular inspections to all heritage-listed sites “two times per year.”
Questioned by the journalists if UNESCO was already informed about the incident, the representative from IC said, “the report will be firstly sent to China’s Ministry of Culture” and it will be the responsibility of Luo Shugang’s Office “to follow the procedure of informing UNESCO.”
Leong stressed that  the partial colapse of the St. Augustine Church roof was “a lesson” for the Cultural Affairs Bureau.
“We are already improving our systems and will also in the near future update our equipment and staff knowledge,” she said.

heritage safeguard plan to enter second phase

The Heritage Safeguard Plan that UNESCO requested the Macau government to implement “will not be entering its second stage until the end of this year,” said the vice president of Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Leung Hio Ming. Leung was replying to journalists’ questions regarding the current status of the plan. He explained that during the first stage a public consultation on the framework of the plan was done. The second will now focus on concrete actions such as protection works and regulations. The document regarding this stage is expected to be ready for public consultation by the end of 2016.

Leong Wai Man