Research into earthquakes is being carried out jointly by the Myanmar Earthquake Committee and the China Academy of Sciences.
Myanmar Earthquake Committee secretary U Myo Thant said that 65 earthquake prediction (GPS) equipment will be deployed underground by geologists from both countries, starting in 2018.
The equipment, which will record data, were installed in various spots, stretching from the Indian border tectonic zone to Kyaunk Mae town, Shan State, in July 2016.
The GPS equipment is being monitored by the China Academy of Sciences and has been collecting data from 2016.
The research project is coordinated by Myanmar Earthquake Committee, Myanmar Geoscience Society, the Geology Department of Mandalay, and the China Academy of Sciences.
The GPS devices have been installed across the Myanmar-India border from Kyaukme town, which is close to the India and Burma plate, the Ka Maw fault, Sagaing fault and the Kyauk Kyan fault.
Earthquake data on these faults will be received by the GPS and recorded, said U Myo Thant.
“The more accurate the data received, the more accurate the earthquake hazards map can be drawn, “ he said.
“The more exact the earthquake hazards map is, the more prepared we will be in reducing the consequences of the earthquake, “ U Myo Thant said.
The data recorded in the GPS equipment are being collected once every three months.
In November, the data will be collected for the last time and the research will begin early next year.
“We will collect the data in November and the research will begin after that,” said U Myo Thant.
The research will be done at the China Academy of Sciences together with Myanmar doctoral students from CAS and two other geologists.
GPS equipment measures the movement of the earth underground.
Geologists use the data from the GPS to study or predict earthquakes.
Another 30 GPS devices have been installed in various parts of the country and research is being done jointly by the Myanmar Earthquake Committee, the geology departments of various universities and the Earthquake Observatory of Singapore.
Senior Myanmar geologists said that they are facing a shortage of GPS devices for the study and prediction of earthquakes in the country.
The Ka Maw fault is mostly the cause of the tectonic zone, while the Sagaing fault is considered one of the most dangerous faults because it has been silent for about 100 years, according to MEC’s earthquake hazards map. The Kyauk Kyan fault produced a magnitude 8 earthquake in MayMyo township in 1912, according to U Myo Thant.
Source: Myanmar Times
