Shenzhen skyscraper closed as officials seek cause of shaking

The owner of a 71-floor office tower in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen closed the building on Friday, May 21, pending an investigation into what caused the skyscraper to begin shaking on Tuesday, May 18.

Shenzhen Electronics Group Co Ltd will close the 356-meter (1,167 feet) SEG Plaza to tenants and shoppers to carry out inspections into the cause of the swaying, it said in a notice posted on the Weibo social media account of the state-owned Xinhua News agency.

Reuters could not immediately contact Shenzhen Electronics for a comment on the closure.

The swaying caused objects on desks in the building to move and workers were evacuated from the tower. Videos shared on social media showed panicked pedestrians fleeing the area after the rocking began.

Several nearby buildings were also evacuated, with police and fire crews sealing off the surrounding area.

The main structure of the building is safe and no cracks were found in the building or its surroundings, the Shenzhen Housing Authority said in a statement on Wednesday, May 19. An initial investigation ruled out an earthquake as the cause.

SEG Plaza opened in 2001 and several of the lower floors contain electronics shops.

On Wednesday, the US Consulate General in Guangzhou, recommended that US citizens avoid the Huaqiangbei area where the building is located because of “inadequate information to assess the safety risks.”

Business has continued as normal for those working nearby.

“Most of my colleagues are making fun of this, they’re not worried,” said Keyman Guan, whose robotics company continued its anniversary in a nearby building hours after the evacuation on Tuesday.

“I didn’t realize what happened until I saw a picture of the crowd in the streets.”

Others say they will remain cautious until there is a clear explanation.

“I wouldn’t dare to go back and work unless there’s a very thorough and reasonable report,” said Donny Zhang, who runs a hardware consulting and sourcing company in the area. – Rappler.com