Building Disaster Risks in

Myanmar

Assignment on
Safety Engineering of Architecture

Thein Lin Aung (28J18104)

26.11.2018
 Building disaster risks in Myanmar
Introduction
Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia with
population of over 53 million. It has 135
distinct ethnic groups spread throughout the
country. Hence, the lifestyle, culture, and
types and design of buildings also differ in
each part of the country. The most densely
populated and developed regions are Yangon
and Mandalay.

Types of building
Most of modern buildings and architectural structures can be found in developed urban
regions. In rural areas, a lot of buildings are not constructed with proper engineering
principles and built using naturally available materials such as wood, bamboo, reed matting
and nipa leaves. According to 2014 census, up to 79 percent of housing units are made from
wood or bamboo. Another type of common buildings includes pagodas and temples, both
ancient and new, which can be found in all parts of the country.

Fig 1 Types of housing by rural and urban

Risks to natural disasters

The construction, maintenance and repair of buildings in Myanmar are regulated by the
development, planning and building authority of the government according to “Myanmar
National Building Code”. However, the rules are not strictly enforced in rural areas and
hence a lot of buildings are still prone to damage by natural disasters. Building materials
such as bamboo and nipa leaves can deteriorate quickly and are not strong enough to
withstand earthquake or storms.

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 Fig 2 An apartment building in Yangon Fig 3 A bamboo hut

Earthquake
Old and outdated high-rise buildings from colonial era (1890s) in Yangon face the highest
risk from earthquakes. Since buildings were built side-by-side with little or no gap in
between, the collapse of one building can compromise the strength and safety of other
buildings in the event of a strong earthquake. Yangon is considered to have strong seismic
potential since it is near the Sagaing fault, Dedaye fault and Bago fault. Although the law
includes earthquake resistance checks, authorities did not enforce the law until 2010.
Consequently, there are many substandard quality buildings in Yangon although they
appear safe being built with reinforced concrete.
Ancient pagodas and temples in famous Bagan city are dated to 9th century AD. They exist
on Bagan seismic fault and were regularly damaged and rebuilt. Weather and time also
caused deteriorations of the magnificent temples and reduced structural integrity. However,
they cannot be rebuilt and renovations cannot obstruct or destroy historical architectures.
Careful assessment and repairs are needed to preserve these important world heritages.

source: pixabay.com

Fig 4 An ancient temple in Bagan

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Flood and storms
Myanmar is located in the monsoon region of Asia and coastal regions receive over 5000
mm of rain annually. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
classifies Myanmar as high risk in river, costal and urban flood. In fact, floods are common
even in central Yangon during the raining season. But those floods only cause
inconvenience to the residence and usually do not damage buildings. Traditional houses in
flood-susceptible regions of Myanmar have raised floors to prevent flooding interiors.

Fig 5 A traditional house

Lower part of Myanmar suffered great damage by cyclone Nargis in May 2008. The
cyclone was the worst natural disaster in the history of Myanmar and over 1 million
casualties were reported. Wooden houses and bamboo huts were no match for fierce winds.
Even modern concrete buildings suffered damage such as blown roofs and windows.
Unfortunately, the strength of buildings did not improve after the storm because people
could not afford to build modern houses. Therefore, buildings are still at risk to damage by
future cyclones.

Fig 6 Damage by cyclone Nargis

References: Myanmar census 2014, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar ,
https://www.gfdrr.org/myanmar , http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Cyclone2008Burma.html ,
https://www.mmtimes.com/opinion/25556-earthquake-risks-yangon-s-old-high-rises.html ,
https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-asia-37293499