132 ( ' ()GGIN BROWN : THE BURMA EARTHQUAKES OF MAY 1912. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE EARTHQUAKE AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. 



The damage caused to brick and stone buildings was far more 

 severe than to those of wood, or of wood and 

 ^Briok and masonry brick nog ging. Although as a rule left stand- 

 ing, most of the injured brick and stone walls 

 contained numerous large and small cracks (PI. No. 5). In a few 

 very bad cases walls collapsed or the top parts near the roofs 

 were shaken away. Cracking was most prevalent near lines of 

 weakness caused by the presence of windows, doors and arches, 

 but did not as a rule cross the bricks themselves, following rather 

 the mortar binding them together. 



Wooden structures suffered much less than those of brick and 



stone, though judging bv the damage to loose 

 Wooden houses. .. ...... " . . . 



objects contamed in them, they felt the shock 



to much the same extent. The indigenous Shan and Burmese houses 



were hardly injured at all. They are practically earthquake proof. 



The high panels in brick nogging walls, and the gables in 

 similar positions were frequentlv shaken out 



Brick noif<R'd houses. . ' . 



and the lower ones cracked, but where the 

 keying of the frames was well done and in good condition, with 

 the exception of minor damage to plaster ceilings and to chimneys, 

 little further injury was caused. 



It may be taken for granted that nearly all the brick 



chimnevs of houses in the severelv shaken 

 Brick ohiumevs. , n * ..' 



areas were damaged. borne seemed to have 



been lashed off whole at their junctions with the roof. Others 

 appear to have crumbled away and cases were observed in which 

 chimneys although standing had been twisted around through quite 

 large angles, while others were shattered or cracked in all direc- 

 tions. Not only was such cracking found in those portions 

 of the chimneys projecting above the roof level, but it often 

 extended down into the flues, which were also occasionally broken 

 away from the walls of the house. The situation of the site and 

 the character of the mortar used in construction probably 

 account for these bewildering variations. 



