Because the earthquake in Myanmar was felt so far from the epicenter and 3 more questions about the tragedy

The failure of the sagature, which extends from north to south in Myanmar and is over 1,200 km long, is one of the factors that have spread the earthquake in different countries.

The strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, which took place on Friday (28/3) left thousands of deaths and injured and causes numerous houses and buildings.

Although the country of the South – East Asia is a high risk region for seismic tremolio, neighboring countries such as Thailand and China – which have also been affected by the earthquake – are not.

The Thai capital, Bangkok, is located over a thousand km from the epicenter of the earthquake on Friday, but a high building under construction in that city collapsed after the tremor.

In this report, we explained what this powerful earthquake caused and how serious developments have had so far from the epicenter.

1. What did the earthquake cause?

The upper layer of the earth is divided into different sections called busty plates, which move constantly.

Some of them move laterally, while others move on each other (or below).

And it is precisely this movement that causes earthquakes and volcano formation.

Myanmar is considered one of the most active geologically active areas because it is in the convergence of four of these plates: Eurasian microlacas, Indian, probe and Birma.

The Himalaya was formed by the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate.

The 2004 tsunami was a consequence of the movement of the Indian plate under the Burmatic microplac.

Rebecca Bell, who searches for tectonic signs to Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, explains that to accommodate all this movement, failures (or cracks in the rock), which allows the slide of busty plaques to the sides.

There is a great flaw called sagaing failure, which extends from north to south in Myanmar and is over 1,200 km long.

The preliminary data suggest that the movement that caused the Friday earthquake was “lateral slip”, in which two blocks move horizontally next to each other.

This complies with the type of movement characteristic of the failure of theel.

When the plates slide on each other, they can remain blocked, which increases friction until it is suddenly released. This makes the ground move and an earthquake occurs.

2. Why has the earthquake felt so far?

Earthquakes can occur up to 700 km below the surface.

But Friday’s earthquake took place at a depth of only 10 km, which makes it a very superficial earthquake.

This, in turn, increases the amount of tremors on the soil surface.

In addition, this earthquake was very large, with a size of 7.7 on the scale of the seismic movement.

According to the US Geological Service (USGS), he released more energy than the atomic bomb released on Hiroshima.

The size of the earthquake is related to the type of failure in which it happened, Bell teaches.

“The straight nature of sagaing failure allows earthquakes to propagate through large areas and the greater the imperfect area that slips, the greater the earthquake,” he says.

“There were six earthquakes of magnitude 7 or larger in this region in the last century,” recalls the researcher.

This straight failure also means that most of the energy can be transmitted during its extension, which extends to 1,200 km south, towards Thailand.

The way they feel the earthquakes also depends on the type of soil that happen.

In soft soils – such as those in which Bangkok was built – seismic waves (terrestrial vibrations) slow down and accumulate, which increases the size of the problem.

Therefore, Bangkok’s geology would have intensified the tremore of the soil.

3. Why did one skyscraper collapsed in Bangkok?

Although shocking images of high buildings have emerged in Bangkok who trembled during the earthquake and even had the loss of swimming pool losses located on the terrace, the unfinished headquarters of the office of the general auditor in the Bangkok chatuchak district, seems to be the only skyscraper to be completely collapsed.

According to Christian Malaga-Chuquitaype, senior engineering professor of earthquakes at Imperial College London, before 2009 Bangkok had no complete safety regulations for resistant earthquake buildings.

This means that older buildings would be particularly vulnerable.

Such such is not uncommon, since the earthquake resistant buildings tend to be more expensive – and Thailand, unlike Mianmar, has often not suffered from earthquakes.

Emily So, professor of architectural engineering at Cambridge University, also in the United Kingdom, observes that older buildings can be strengthened and that this has already been done in places such as California, the United States, Western Canada and New Zealand.

Professor Amorn Pimarnmas, president of the Thailand Stutcuttural Engineers Association, states that although there are construction regulations resistant to the land in 43 provinces in the country, it is estimated that less than 10% of the buildings is actually able to contain earthquakes.

However, the building that collapsed was new – in fact, was still under construction when the earthquake occurred – and therefore regulations updated to work had to be applied.

Pimarnmas evaluates that even Bangkok’s soft soil may have played a role in collapse as it amplifies seismic movements three to four times.

“However, there are other variables to consider, such as the quality of the material (cement, beams and metal columns) and any irregularities in the structural system. All this has yet to be studied in detail,” he adds.

After analyzing the video of the collapse of the building, Malaga-Chuquitaype understands that apparently work had a system of construction of “flat slabs”, a method that is no longer recommended in areas subject to earthquakes.

“A system of flat slabs involves the building of buildings in which the floors are based directly on columns without the use of beams,” he explains.

“It is like a table resting only on the legs without any additional horizontal support below.”

“Although this project has economic and architectural advantages, its performance during earthquakes are bad and often fails suddenly, almost explosive,” adds the expert.

4. And the buildings in Myanmar?

Mandalay in Myanmar was much closer to the epicenter of the earthquake, so he must have suffered trees considerably stronger than that of Bangkok.

Although Myanmar regularly suffers from earthquakes, Ian Watkinson, professor of Earth Sciences at the Royal Holloway University in the United Kingdom, believes that it is unlikely that many buildings are built according to earthquake resistance models.

“Generalized poverty, the great political convulsions and other disasters – for example, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 – have diverted the attention of the country from the unpredictable risks associated with earthquakes”, listed.

“This means that in many cases the structural design codes are not applied and the construction is performed in areas that can involve a greater seismic risk such as flood plains or steep dollars.”

Some Mandalay buildings are also found on the flood of the Iraiádi river, which makes them highly vulnerable to a phenomenon called liquefaction.

This occurs when the ground has a high water content and the agitation makes the sediments lose firmness and behave like a liquid.

This phenomenon increases the risk of owners and buildings, since the soil can no longer bear them.

Emily only warns that “there is always the possibility of more damage to buildings close to a failure due to secondary tremors: the shocks that occur after the main earthquake and can be caused by the sudden transfer of energy to nearby rocks.

“Most of the time, the secondary tremors are smaller than the main shock and tend to decrease in size and frequency over time,” he warns.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.