TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei authorities have evacuated 182 people after construction work led to the collapse of one building and the demolition of another. 

Excavation for a basement at a construction site on Liuzhang Street in Sanchong District caused neighboring apartments at No. 184 and No. 190 to tilt, per CNA. On Monday night, the structure at No. 184 suddenly collapsed, prompting the city government to demolish No. 190 overnight as it leaned precariously.

No. 192 residents discovered their door frames had become so warped they could not open them while retrieving belongings Tuesday. Concerned that the foundation might be affected by the neighboring buildings' collapse and demolition, they reported the issue to the city government, which started evacuating people.

As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, 64 households with 162 residents at Nos. 184, 190, and 192 had been evacuated, per CNA. Monitoring points have been set up for neighboring buildings No. 182 and No. 192. Current data indicates that these two buildings are stable and not tilting, but more observation is needed. 

Following discussions with the New Taipei Public Works Department and other units, the city decided to pause the removal of rubble at the site and wait until monitoring results are released on Wednesday to assess the building conditions and determine when evacuees can return home. 

In the meantime, the evacuation area has been expanded to include 10 households from No. 196 and No. 196-1 across the street from No. 192. This brings the number of precautionary evacuations to 74 households.