What caused it and why did it make the building in Bangkok’s collapse?

On Friday, a major earthquake in Myanmar caused more than 1000 deaths and led to many structures.

Despite the fact that Myanmar is an area of ​​high -risk earthquakes, the damage to the buildings was widespread.

On the other hand, Bangkok is not considered prone to earthquake. The Thai capital is more than 1000 km (621 miles) from the epicenter of the earthquake on Friday – and nevertheless, the unfinished multi -storey building in the city.

Here we will explain what caused this earthquake, and how it was able to have such a powerful effect so far.

The top layer of the earth is broken into different areas, called tectonic plates that are constantly moving. Some move together and others are above and below.

It is this movement that causes earthquakes and volcanoes.

Myanmar is considered one of the most geologically “active” areas in the world, as it sits from above from the convergence of four of these tectonic plates – the Eurasian plate, the Indian plate, the Sunda and the Burma microplast.

The Himalayas were formed by the Indian plate faced by the Eurasian plate, and the 2004 tsunami as a result of the Indian plate moving under the Burma microplast.

D -rs Rebecca Bell, the reader of the Tektanics at the London Imperial College, said that for the maintenance of all this movement, the malfunction – cracks in the rock – a form that allows tectonic plates to “slide”.

There is a great malfunction called Sagaing Beav, which is rushed directly through Myanmar north to south and more than 1200 km long (746 miles).

Early data suggest that the movement that caused the earthquake on Friday in 7.7 magnet was “strike-slip” -s two blocks moving horizontally along each other.

This coincides with the movement characteristic of the fault of the saga.

As the plates pass each other, they can stuck, building friction until it suddenly comes out and the earth does not shift, causing an earthquake.

Earthquakes can occur up to 700 km (435 miles) below the surface. It was only 10 km from the surface, which made it very small. This increases the number of trembling on the surface.

The earthquake was also very large – 7.7 at the time of scale. According to the US Geological Service, it produced more energy than the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima.

The size of the earthquake was due to the malfunction type, the D -R -Bell said.

“Direct nature (malfunction) means that earthquakes can tear in large areas – and the greater the area slides, the more earthquakes,” she explained.

“There were six scales of 7 or more earthquakes in this region.”

This direct malfunction also means that a lot of energy can be moved by its length – which extends 1200 km south to Thailand.

As earthquakes are felt on the surface, it is also determined by the soil type.

In soft soil – on what Bangkok is built – seismic waves (vibrations of the earth) slow down and accumulate, becoming larger.

Thus, Bangkok’s geology would make the land that would shake more intense.

While dramatic footage appeared from multi -storey buildings in Bangkok, which swayed during the earthquake – knock of water from the pool on the roof – Unforced headquarters at the Bangkok General Auditor’s office in the Chatukhak area is the only skyscraper that collapses.

Until 2009, Bangkok had no comprehensive security standard to build buildings to withstand earthquakes, says Dr. Christian Malaga-Chukitip, a senior teacher at the Imperial College in London.

This means that the old buildings would be particularly vulnerable.

This is not unusual, because the earthquake buildings can be more expensive, and Thailand, unlike Myanmar, often does not feel earthquakes.

Emily’s D -R, Professor of Architectural Engineering at the University of Cambridge, noted that old buildings could be strengthened, for example, in California, Western Canada and New Zealand.

However, the collapsed building was new – in fact it is still built when the earthquake struck – and the updated construction standards would apply.

But after studying the video, Dr. Malaga-Chukitepe stated that he likes the construction process of the “flat plate” that is no longer recommended in the earthquakes.

The “flat plate” system is a way of building buildings where floors are made directly on the columns without using beams, “he explained.

“Imagine a table that is supported only by legs, without additional horizontal supports.

“Although this design has expenses and architectural preferences, it works poorly during earthquakes, often falling in a delicate and sudden (almost explosive) way.”

Mandala in Myanmar was much closer to where the earth slid and would feel much more trembling than Bangkok.

Despite the fact that Myanmar regularly feels earthquakes, Dr. Jan Watkinson, a teacher of the Earth Sciences at the University of Royal Holloe, believed that it is unlikely that many buildings were built as an earthquake.

“General poverty, major political upheaval, as well as other disasters – for example, the Tsunami of the Indian Ocean in 2004 – distracted the country from the concentration of unpredictable risks from earthquakes,” he said.

“This means that in many cases, construction design codes are not implemented, and construction is in areas that may be prone to increased seismic risk, such as floods and steep slopes.”

The parts of the Mandala and its buildings also lie along the floodplain of the Eerwadi River. This makes them very vulnerable to the process called thinning.

This occurs when the soil has a high water content, and the trembling makes the precipitate lose its strength and behaves as a liquid. This increases the risk of landslides and the development of construction, as the earth can no longer support them.

D -R so warned that there is “always a chance” for further damage to buildings near the malfunction line with the jolts -the thrusts that follow the earthquake, which can be caused by the sudden transmission of energy to the nearby rock.

“In most cases, the reversing is less than the main shock, and usually decreases in size and frequency over time,” she said.

Additional Wiki Wong Reporting