The earthquake quake may have killed thousands
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake of Richter with a center in the Sagaing area near the Myanmar city of Mandalay caused major damage in this country and shook neighbor Thailand on Friday.
According to the models of the American Geophysical Institute for the prediction of destruction and casualties, the dead March may be thousands. MRTV state television has so far reported at least 144 killed and 732 injured.
How vulnerable is mead of earthquakes?
Myanmar is located on the border between two tectonic plates and is one of the most active countries in the world, although large and destructive earthquakes are relatively rare in the Sagaing region.
« The border between the Indian plaque and the Eurasian plaque runs approximately north-south, crossing the middle of the country, » said Joanna Fore Walker, professor and earthquake expert at the University College in London.
She said the plates move horizontally at different speeds. Although this causes « slip » earthquakes, which are usually less powerful than those observed in « subduction zones » such as Sumatra, where one plate slides under another, they can still reach a magnitude of 7 to 8.
Why is the quake on Friday so destructive?
Saging has been hit by several earthquakes in recent years, as an event with magnitude 6.8 Causes at least 26 deaths and dozens of injuries at the end of 2012.
But the Friday event was « probably the biggest » that hit the continental part of Myanmar for 75 years, Bill McGuire, another Earthquake expert at UCL, said.
Photo Gales: Southeast Asia was shaken by an earthquake
Roger Mson, an honorary research associate at the British geological service, told Reuters that the small depth of the quake means that the damage will be more serious. The epicenter was only 10 km away, according to the US geological service.
| According to USGC, near the earthquake – grade 8 and 9th in Merkali – there are almost 2 million people in total. The largest city with 1.3 million people is Mandalay. |
« This is very dangerous because it happened at a small depth, so the impact waves do not dissipate as they pass from the focus of the earthquake up to the surface. The buildings were struck with full force of shaking. »
« It is important not to focus on the epicenter, because seismic waves are not emitted by the epicenter – they are emitted from the entire line of the fault, » he added.
How prepared was the country
The USGS Earthquake Danger Program said on Friday that the victims could be between 10,000 and 100,000 people, and the economic impact could reach 70% of Myanmar’s GDP.
Mson said such forecasts are based on data from past earthquakes and the size, location and overall readiness of Myanmar for earthquakes.
The relative rarity of major seismic events in the area of sagaing – which is close to the densely populated Mandalay – means that the infrastructure has not been built to withstand. This means that damage can be much worse.
Mson said the last major earthquake that struck the region was in 1956 and it is unlikely that homes were built to withstand seismic forces as powerful as those who hit Friday on Friday.
« Most of Myanmar’s seismicity is the west as it is now moving in the center of the country, » he said.
