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| Hanoians leave their homes and offices for the street in reaction to a tremor in May 2008 | ||
Vietnam could fall victim to 9.0 magnitude earthquakes, scientists have warned.
He issued the warning Thursday during a seminar on earthquakes in Vietnam held by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations in Hanoi.
Local scientists and experts from China, Japan and the US participated in the event.
âSome major urban areas in Vietnam would be very sensitive to tectonic shifts and tremors,â he said, adding that Hanoi could possibly see a quake of 8.0 on the Richter scale.
He said that though the possibility of a major earthquake in Ho Chi Minh City was far lower than in the capital, the southern hub would be more vulnerable to smaller tremors as its built on weaker land.
Old apartmentâs problem
According to research by the National Institute of Global Physics, many apartments, hospitals and schools built on weak foundations in the 1960s and 1970s would be particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.
The research was conducted in HCMCâs districts 1 and 3 and in Hanoiâs Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Hai Ba Trung districts.
Nguyen Trung Hoa, head of the Construction Ministryâs Science, Technology and Environment Department, also told Thanh Nien Thursday he was worried about earthquakes.
âMany buildings are badly deteriorating and apartment residents have modified building structures on their own,â he said.
However, he said modern buildings were much safer.
âNew high-rises have been designed with the highest levels of seismic-resistance.â
The Construction Ministry issued seismic-resistance criteria for buildings of nine stories and above in 2006.
Hoa said buildings in HCMC were not required by the ministry to follow the criteria because the area was not as vulnerable to major quakes.
However, he said all new buildings in Hanoi had followed the criteria since 2006.
Past earthquakes
Vietnam suffered two major earthquakes in the 20th Century, both in what is now Dien Bien Province.
The first earthquake was in 1935 with magnitude 6.8 and the second in 1983 with magnitude 6.7. The two quakes caused cracks in the walls of houses in Hanoi, some 470 kilometers away.
In May 2008, Hanoi suffered tremors from an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude in northern Laos. Although no casualties were recorded, the quake terrified residents and employees working in high-rise buildings.
In 2005, light tremors scared many in HCMC. Authorities said they were caused by a minor earthquake in the sea off Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, with a magnitude of between three and four.
Earlier in 2001, an earthquake damaged thousands of houses in Dien Bien Province.
EARTHQUAKE MAP IN VIETNAM - Magnitude 8 or 9: Areas in the provinces of Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Son La and Lai Chau. Magnitude 8: Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces; areas around the Hong, Chau and Ca-Rao Nay rivers in the north; the western part of the East Sea. Magnitude 7: The northern provinces of Hoa Binh and Yen Bai; areas around Lo River in the north. Magnitude 6 or below: The rest of Vietnam. |
Reported by Tuyet Nhung â“ Quang Duan