RMS Releases Report on Recent Pu’er, China Earthquake

A preliminary loss estimate report from Risk Management Solutions indicates that the recent earthquake that struck the Chinese province of Yunnan will cost some 1.91RMB ($250 million) in economic losses.

“The magnitude 6.3 earthquake near the borders of Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam on June 3 hit the Ning’er County and the tea-producing city of Pu’er the hardest,” said the bulletin. “Three people died and more than 400 were injured.”

RMS explained that the “mountainous and remote” region, has experienced slow economic development. “As a result, many buildings are old and are have little resistance to earthquakes. With a depth of only 5 kilometers, the earthquake produced cracks along the ground, which caused water to flow to the surface and mudslides to be triggered. In addition to property damage, communications, water supply, and local infrastructure were affected.”

Around 55 percent of the total economic loss is believed to be attributable to residential properties – mainly from unreinforced walls collapsing – while the rest is from building and contents damage to commercial properties and infrastructure.

“RMS’ earthquake model development partner, the Institute of Engineering Mechanics (IEM) of the China Earthquake Administration, surveyed the damage from the earthquake within days of the main shock,” the report said. “IEM’s observations, along with loss estimates based on the newly launched RMS® China Earthquake Model, are contained in the 2007 Pu’er, China Earthquake Report.”