DOI: 10.17603/ds2-x3vv-pm77
title: StEER: M7.7 Myanmar Earthquake Joint Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (J-PVRR)
title: in StEER - Myanmar Earthquake

description: The M7.7 March 28, 2025 Mandalay, Myanmar earthquake occurred at 12:50 PM local time (06:20 UTC), causing extensive damage and over 3500 fatalities in central Myanmar, and isolated damage as far as Bangkok, Thailand, over 500 km from the southern end of the rupture. The M7.7 event appears to have ruptured approximately 460 km of the right-lateral strike-slip Sagaing Fault, the most active and seismically hazardous fault in Myanmar. Significant ground failure effects have been observed and documented throughout the area impacted by the earthquake. Numerous buildings collapsed or experienced structural damage in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, and in smaller cities such as Sagaing, Kyaukse, and Amarapura.

In response, StEER activated at Level 1 and joined a consortium of several organizations to form a Joint Virtual Assessment Team (J-VAT) that includes members of StEER, the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) Program, the UK’s Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), GeoHazards International (GHI), and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok. 

The J-VAT was charged with the production of the primary product of the joint response to this event: this Joint Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (J-PVRR), intended to: (1) provide an overview of the March 28, 2025 M7.7 Myanmar earthquake and it societal impacts; (2) overview the regulatory environment and construction practices in the affected areas; (3) document its geotechnical dimensions and impacts to the built environment by synthesizing insights from remote sensing and preliminary reports of geotechnical failures and damage to land, buildings and infrastructure; and (4) offer recommendations for continued study of this event. 

This project encompasses the products of StEER's Level 1 response to this event the Joint Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (J-PVRR) with corresponding Media Repository. 
description: In response, StEER activated at Level 1 and joined a consortium of several organizations to form a Joint Virtual Assessment Team (J-VAT) that includes members of StEER, the Geotechnical Extreme Events Reconnaissance (GEER) Association, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) Program, the UK’s Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT), GeoHazards International (GHI), and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Bangkok.

The J-VAT was charged with the production of the primary product of the joint response to this event: this Joint Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (J-PVRR), intended to: (1) provide an overview of the March 28, 2025 M7.7 Myanmar earthquake and it societal impacts; (2) overview the regulatory environment and construction practices in the affected areas; (3) document its geotechnical dimensions and impacts to the built environment by synthesizing insights from remote sensing and preliminary reports of geotechnical failures and damage to land, buildings and infrastructure; and (4) offer recommendations for continued study of this event. Note that observations in Myanmar were based primarily on images shared on social media by local residents and local media (foreign journalists were not allowed in the affected areas), satellite imagery, official damage figures from the military government, and reports by ASEAN and UN agencies. Observations in Thailand were based on local reports from the field, local and international media, social media, and official damage information from ASEAN and the government.

The Joint Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (J-PVRR) includes both the official report as well as an disruption/outage/restoration spreadsheet that contains baseline energy supply data. As the product of entirely virtual reconnaissance, the PVRR is not based upon detailed field investigations by StEER.