

The government of Tianjin has agreed to purchase houses that were damaged in a series of blasts that ripped through a warehouse in the city last month at 1.3 times the property value.

Xinhua reports:

The municipal government has selected Fangda Real Estate Appraisal Company to assess apartments in seven residential compounds, where more than 17,000 units were damaged by the blasts. The company will suggest whether an apartment requires rebuilding or buyback, said Huang Jisheng, general manager of the company. The appraised value will be compared with the contract value of the apartments, and the higher price will be used for buyback, he said. In addition, another 30 percent of value will be provided to residents as compensation, he added.

The development follows weeks of protest from local homeowners who were forced to relocate after the explosions left their houses unlivable, either because they were destroyed in the blasts or because toxic residue remained after cleanup efforts.

Last week, officials announced that families of firefighters killed in the blast would be given 2.3 million yuan in compensation—way more than the typical payouts given to accident victims in China.

Many have speculated that the massive amount is an attempt by authorities to quell criticism after it came to light that several of the firefighters dispatched to the Ruihai International Logistics warehouse had not been adequately prepared for tackling such a blaze.

Authorities over the weekend called an end to the search for the remaining eight people who’d gone missing in the August 12 warehouse blast, bringing the final death toll to 173, including 104 firefighters.

[Image via CCTV]



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