UNION Minister for Science and Technology Dr Myo Thein Kyaw, accompanied by officials, yesterday morning observed ongoing structural integrity inspections of buildings of the ministry affected by the Man­dalay earthquake that struck on 28 March.

A combined inspection team comprising four experi­enced earthquake and disaster experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and local specialists is con­ducting these assessments us­ing Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) technology.

The IAEA experts have previously conducted simi­lar post-earthquake assess­ments in Mexico (2017), Al­bania (2019), Ecuador (2023), and Syria (2024). In Myanmar, they are using advanced NDT equipment such as Rebar De­tectors, Rebound Hammers, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Ultrasonic Pulse Veloc­ity (UPV) devices, and Infrared Cameras to examine structur­al damage without compromis­ing building integrity.

The inspection team has visited the Ministry of Labour and the 1,000-bed General Hospital to carry out on-site assessments.

They also conducted a de­tailed inspection using testing equipment at the Human Re­source Development Centre under the Ministry of Science and Technology. — MNA/KZL