双语时事：为什么缅甸和泰国的地震如此具有破坏性？

Why Was the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand So Devastating?

A strong earthquake hit Myanmar. It measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. The shaking was felt far and wide. There's likely a lot of damage because most buildings there aren't made to handle earthquakes.

一场强烈的地震袭击了缅甸。它的里氏震级为7.7级。震动范围很广，人们都能感觉到。很可能造成了大量的破坏，因为那里的大多数建筑物都不是为抵御地震而建造的。

On March 28, around noon local time, tens of millions of people in Southeast Asia felt the ground suddenly break.

当地时间3月28日中午左右，东南亚数千万人感觉到地面突然晃动。

The earthquake was centered just 12 miles from Mandalay in Myanmar. It made streets bend, old pagodas fall down, bridges break apart, and houses collapse. Whole neighborhoods were destroyed in seconds.

这次地震的震中距离缅甸曼德勒仅12英里。它使街道变形，古老的佛塔倒塌，桥梁断裂，房屋坍塌。整个社区在几秒钟内就被摧毁了。

What made this earthquake happen?
是什么导致了这次地震的发生？

This big earthquake on March 28 was a huge break along a special crack. Robin Lacassin, an earthquake scientist, says, "All the data we have now shows it was a break on the Sagaing Fault."

3月28日的这次大地震是沿着一条特殊的裂缝发生的一次巨大断裂。地震科学家罗宾·拉卡辛（Robin Lacassin）说：“我们目前掌握的所有数据都表明，这是实皆断层（Sagaing Fault）上的一次断裂。”

This is a big north - south fault. It's like the San Andreas Fault in California, where two parts of the Earth's crust slide past each other. The Sagaing Fault has caused many strong and damaging quakes before. Hubbard says that in May 2023, the same fault had a 5.8 - magnitude quake that also caused some damage. It's a very dangerous fault, especially because Myanmar's capital, Nay Pyi Taw, is right on it.

这是一条巨大的南北走向的断层。它就像加利福尼亚的圣安地列斯断层（San Andreas Fault）一样，地球地壳的两个部分在那里相互滑动。实皆断层以前就曾引发过许多强烈且具有破坏性的地震。哈伯德（Hubbard）说，在2023年5月，同一条断层发生了一次5.8级的地震，那次地震也造成了一些破坏。这是一个非常危险的断层，尤其是因为缅甸的首都内比都（Nay Pyi Taw）正好位于这条断层上。

Why did this earthquake cause so much damage?
为什么这次地震造成了如此大的破坏？

Earthquakes like this are a horrific reminder of why disasters cannot purely be referred to as "natural." Today's quake was powerful, yes—but the cities in the blast zone didn't stand a chance because of a decidedly human factor. "This earthquake occurred in an area with no earthquake - resistant buildings and inadequate building codes," Carrera - Cevallos says.

像这样的地震是一个可怕的提醒，让人们明白为什么灾害不能纯粹地被称为“自然灾害”。今天的地震确实很强烈——但是由于一个明显的人为因素，震区的城市根本没有抵抗的机会。卡雷拉-塞瓦略斯（Carrera-Cevallos）说：“这次地震发生在一个没有抗震建筑且建筑规范不完善的地区。”

You can't make a building that will never fall in a really strong earthquake. But you can put things in the building's design to make it sway safely during a quake. Even old buildings can be fixed to have earthquake - resistant features.

你无法建造出一座在非常强烈的地震中永远不会倒塌的建筑。但是你可以在建筑的设计中加入一些元素，使其在地震中能够安全地晃动。即使是旧建筑也可以进行改造，使其具备抗震功能。

翻译：豆包

整理：2025年4月14日于经典龙苑