Earthquake devastation in Myanmar underscores regional lag in construction standards, regulations, says expert

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar Friday and could leave a death toll over 1,000 further underscores a regional lag in building codes and construction standards, according to Daniel Aldrich, a Northeastern professor, director of the university’s Resilience Studies Program and co-director at the Global Resilience Institute.

“A lot of factors are converging here,” he says. “But the bottom line is we’re talking about construction standards in developing countries.”

He continues, “With the more than 150 people reported dead so far, and potentially maybe thousands more, there is strong support for the argument that governance structures—the way a central government spends money, supports construction laws and builds a system that double-checks developers—plays an outsized role in these disasters.”

The collapse of a 30-story skyscraper that was under construction in nearby Thailand, which has been circulating on social media, provided a focal point for the devastation caused by the earthquake. At least seven people are confirmed dead as a result of the collapse; another 20 others were reportedly stuck in an elevator, according to the New York Times.

“In Japan, an earthquake of this magnitude has never caused a building under construction to collapse,” Aldrich says. “Japan has been forced to contend with earthquakes with such regularity that it has required them to act.”

A recent report on the state of Myanmar’s disaster preparedness found that the country is exposed to “significant natural disasters, including earthquakes, fires, droughts, floods, landslides, cyclones and tsunamis.” The report goes on to highlight that the country lacks a reliable early warning system and has “less experience handling big earthquakes than it does with other disasters, such as floods, cyclones and fires.”

“Generally, the building typology in urban and rural areas is brick nogging, concrete, steel, masonry and wood. Buildings up to 10 stories are made of concrete and masonry, however, those building designs fail to fully consider earthquake-resistance measures,” the report reads.

A report assessing Thailand’s state of preparedness found that there is “inadequate research and development in earthquake and tsunami sciences” there, a “lack of proper maintenance of the critical facilities for the earthquake and tsunami mitigation,” and an overall lack of awareness.

“Part of the problem in developing nations is you have multiple priorities and a limited budget, and it’s unlikely that planners in Myanmar would have had earthquakes underlined,” Aldrich says.

Disaster recovery in Myanmar, which is ruled by a military junta and under Western sanctions, will be complicated by the fact that the country faces significant isolation on the global stage. The United Nations said it had set aside an initial $5 million from its emergency fund to help “life-saving operations” in Myanmar and neighboring countries, according to the New York Times.

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu.