The earthquake that occurred in Myanmar at lunchtime on Friday had a magnitude of 7.7.
A magnitude of 7.7, we may have two or three times a year. Fortunately, they rarely occur in densely populated areas like this time, says Björn Lund.
He sees great similarities with the large earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Turkey. There, over 50,000 people died, and in neighboring Syria, over 6,000.
We have an earthquake that is roughly the same size as the earthquake in Turkey and which also occurred in a very densely populated area. Then we don't know much about the building standards in the area, but probably they are not better than they were in Turkey.
Björn Lund says he is worried about the consequences of the earthquake.
In the order of magnitude we're talking about, it can be about severe damage and possibly thousands of fatalities.
The next two weeks, you can also expect large aftershocks with a magnitude of 6 or greater. After that, smaller earthquakes may occur throughout the year or longer.
