Urban redevelopment in densely populated areas often involves removing existing piles, backfilling boreholes, and installing new piles. Strength differences between backfilled soil and original ground can lead to drilling deviations, compromising building integrity and leading to economic losses. However, current countermeasures are based on experience-based judgements. In a new study, researchers present a new quantitative framework for evaluating drilling instability induced by backfilling, offering practical guidelines for improving resource efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

Chinese scientists have identified five major fundamental scientific questions for extreme complex geological disaster chains: “disaster gestation through multi-sphere interactions, disaster regulation by multi-interface control, disaster propulsion by multi-dynamic coupling, disaster initiation by extreme events, and disaster amplification through multi-disaster chain interactions.” They further reveal the core characteristics of disaster chains from the three dimensions of time, space, and human activities, and construct a coherent “mechanism–prediction–prevention and control” research framework.

On 28 March 2025, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar, killing over 5,400 people. Satellite data revealed a 500-km rupture along the Sagaing Fault, with maximum surface slip of 4.6 meters. The earthquake showed no shallow slip deficit and part of it traveled at supershear speed. Large-magnitude earthquakes (Mw＞7) on the segments that ruptured in this event may recur every 104–131 years, while the northern segment may have a shorter one.