Earthquake experts are reportedly pushing for a safety review of high-rise buildings in Yangon and Mandalay after a powerful quake claimed three lives and damaged hundreds of temples in ancient Bagan last month.
The two cities are situated close to the Sagaing fault line – a rupture of which could result in a magnitude 9.0 quake, researchers warned earlier this year.
“I think people who live in the quake zone need to be alert against possible quake,” Daw Hla Hla Aung, patron of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee told a talk show yesterday in Yangon.
According to the Global New Light of Myanmar, the committee said it was trying to raise awareness among residents, engineers and construction workers, briefing them on preparedness measures and risk management.
In recent years, Yangon and Mandalay have undergone a construction boom, with contractors often failing to respect building codes.
A quake that struck Yangon in 1930, with a magnitude of 7.3, claimed 30 lives. Then, the total population was just 400,000. It is now more than 10 times that figure and there are fears that should the city be hit again the casualties could be far higher.
