Legislators across partisan lines pushed for the passage of a bill Sunday aimed at preventing a repeat of the tragedy that occurred in Kaohsiung County's Siaolin village last year during Typhoon Morakot. Opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin contended that the disaster, in which many of the village's residents were buried alive by a massive landslide, may have been prevented if the village's geological changes were monitored beforehand under the stipulations of the draft geology act. The proposed legislation could help prevent heavy damage from landslides, Tien said, by mandating nationwide geological surveys and safety evaluations and the publication of information on 'geologically sensitive areas.' Tien said the Japanese have already taken advantage of the Siaolin tragedy to rethink their disaster prevention schemes. Japan's government broadcaster NHK sent a camera crew to the village and found that the disaster was not caused by a typical rockslide or mudslide, but by a 'deep-seated landslide, ' referring to a deep layer of earth that was dislodged after being permeated and loosened by heavy downpours. Following the NHK report, the Japanese government re-examined parts of its country and found there were at least 14 geologically sensitive areas around Japan that were potentially susceptible to the threat of 'deep-seated landslides,' she noted. Tien said the draft geology act would require the government to make public a list of geologically sensitive areas nationwide and hopefully prevent catastrophic landslides. The law would also help home buyers steer away from locations that are susceptible to landslides, she said. 'Such an important law is like a health checkup before a couple gets married. It doesn't necessarily put a stop to the marriage but it reminds the newlyweds to pay attention,' she argued. Tien urged that the draft geology act be passed into law during an extraordinary legislative session to be held in mid-August. Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lin Tsang-min also backed the legislation, saying it was not too late to take precautions after suffering such severe losses. 'Better late than never. Without a geology law, private properties can still be built and public construction projects developed on geologically sensitive areas,' Lin said. The legislator suggested, however, that the draft legislation, which was approved by a legislative committee in May, was unlikely to clear the full legislature in mid-August due to a tight legislative schedule. He expressed hopes that the draft bill will be passed into law during the next regular legislative session. The new bill under consideration, a revised version of the 2004 measure, obliges the Ministry of Economic Affairs to designate regions with special geological characteristics or that are vulnerable to geological disasters as 'geologically sensitive areas.' It also stipulates that a commission should be established to review proposals to designate, change or abolish the listing of areas as 'geologically sensitive, ' and that no fewer than half the members of the commission be experts and scholars. Unlike the version of the act that nearly became law in 2004, the new measure does not explicitly bar developers from building on 'geologically sensitive' land, but they would be restricted from launching projects on sites even partially located on such land without conducting a geological survey and safety evaluation. 