The Role of Public Health and Earthquake Occurrences in Myanmar: A Case Study of the 2017 Taikkyi Earthquake

Abstract

Most of the historical earthquakes and recent seismicity in Myanmar indicate that earthquake occurrences are closely associated with major fault zones of two different structural trends in N-S direction and NW-SE direction. Series of pull-apart basins along the Burma plate both in Myanmar and in the Andaman Sea are bounded by north- striking faults and controlled by ENE-WSW trending normal faults with dipping either way. The Burma plate has been rifting and drifting towards north, with relative to SE Asia by the back-arc spreading process in Central Andaman Basin since Neogene. Northward movement of the Burma plate accommodates the crustal displacement which in turn, cause continental intraplate earthquakes along the basin bounding faults in the Central Myanmar Basin. Myanmar region is tectonically and seismically active as indicated by occurrences of 15 major earthquakes with M ≥ 7.0 in the past 100 years. Departments of Disaster management are formed all over Myanmar in every township, consisting of sub-committees: information sub-committee, search and rescue sub-committee, public health and first aid sub-committee, training and fund raising sub-committee. Disaster responses mainly involve search and rescue, helping the injured with medical aid, then providing emergency shelter, food and water.