Building Back Resilience: Building Damage Assessment and Repair in Myanmar 

This programme is supported by the Ramboll Foundation and Ramboll UK, and was developed in response to a request from the Global Shelter Cluster. Its core objective is to strengthen local capacity for safer rebuilding, while contributing to sustainable and long-term recovery. 

Background 

Myanmar sits at the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making it one of the most seismically active regions in Asia. The Sagaing Fault, a major strike-slip fault running north-south through the country, has historically caused devastating earthquakes, including the 1930 Bago earthquake (M 7.3) and the 2011 Tarlay earthquake (M 6.8). 

On 28 March 2025, at 12:50:52 MMT (06:20:52 UTC), a Mw 7.7–7.9 earthquake struck the Sagaing Region, near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. The disaster claimed more than 5,000 lives and damaged around 150,000 buildings (ReliefWeb, 2025). 

In the aftermath, humanitarian responders identified a critical gap: the absence of contextualised, easy-to-use guidelines for damage assessment and retrofitting traditional Myanmar construction methods. Without such tools, communities face unnecessary demolitions, unsafe returns, and weakened resilience to future shocks. 

Purpose 

The programme addresses this gap by developing and delivering a comprehensive methodology to guide safe and effective rebuilding. 

Objectives: 

1. Develop a Methodology Document 

• Provide clear guidelines for post-earthquake damage assessment, including structural evaluation, hazard identification, and reporting protocols. 

• Compile information bank on technical standards for repair and retrofitting of low-rise timber and brick masonry buildings, using locally available, cost-effective, and sustainable materials. 

1. Build Local Capacity through Training 

• Equip 40 local earthquake responders – engineers, architects, and humanitarian shelter staff – with skills in Detailed Damage Assessment (DDA) and earthquake-resilient retrofitting & reconstruction methods. 

• Provide self-reading resources (docs, guidance notes) to the local earthquake responders 

The methodology and training will serve as critical resources for government agencies, engineers, humanitarian organisations, and local builders, helping communities to recover more safely and sustainably.