The HCMC government has approved a plan for earthquake and tsunami responses in the city, in which the force to be mobilized in case of disasters consists of nearly 30,000 people.

Additionally, hundreds of vehicles such as motorboats, pontoon boats, ferries, barges, tugboats and rescue boats will be allocated to all districts and mobilized when disasters occur. Furthermore, earthquakes and tsunamis will be promptly covered by the mass media.

According to the municipal government, HCMC is located in the Saigon River fault zone, with a type of fault able to cause earthquakes of up to 5.5 on the Richter scale and level-7 vibrations in the city and the neighboring areas.

Although the possibility of earthquakes is low, the effect of aftershocks on old high-rise buildings, structures with weak footings and poor-quality construction works is worth considering. There is even a chance of tsunamis happening if epicenters lie in adjacent waters.

So far, there has been no epicenter in the city. HCMC has always been the affected area of earthquakes.

For example, in 2005, a quake took place with the epicenter off the Vung Tau coast, 100-120 kilometers from the city, causing an impact on structures and buildings. The aftershocks caused slight vibrations at the high-rise buildings in HCMC and had a psychological effect on citizens although there was no damage.

SGT