It is hoped the availability of 400 additional acute care hospital beds and 600 extra beds in nursing and residential homes will ease the problem of "bed blocking".

BBC: NHS bosses upbeat on winter prospects

"Residential air-conditioning is the peak load problem, and we're able to tackle the load-shifting in a very automated way, " says Matt Rogers, Nest's engineering VP.

CNN: Nest's plan to stop brownouts before they start

New buildings are "bending over backwards to cater to pet owners as potential buyers because they know that that problem exists, " said Barbara Fox, the president of Fox Residential Group, who owns four dogs and two cats.

WSJ: Where Dogs Rule the Roost

Conversion seems to be a big problem: in the case of the Sungshan complex, which collapsed into itself, the superintendent of the residential part of the building says a bank that rented out the first two floors had stripped the steel columns of concrete reinforcement during renovations earlier this year.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Taiwan: The Day the Earth Moved--Page 3