Capacity Building Enables Unique Near-Fault Observations of the destructive 2025 M_w 7.7 Myanmar Earthquake

Abstract. We present an overview of station NPW, installed in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. The station is equipped with both strong-motion and broadband sensors and is situated 2.6 km from the Sagaing Fault, providing an exceptional near-fault recording of the M_w 7.7 earthquake that occurred on March 28, 2025. The installation and ongoing maintenance of NPW are the result of a collaborative effort between the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology in Naypyitaw and the GFZ Helmholtz Center for Geosciences (GFZ) prompted by the GFZ International Training Course on seismology and seismic hazard assessment (ITC) in 2016. In this study, we provide background information about the collaborative effort that led to the installation of the only local station that provides on-scale measurements of the 2025, Myanmar earthquake. Given the widespread interest for data recorded by station, we describe the instrumental settings in detail, and how to access data and metadata for station NPW, which is part of the GEOFON (GE) network. Given the relevance of the near-fault recordings at NPW not only for constraining the rupture process of the mainshock but also for engineering seismology applications, we analyze key features of the mainshock from an engineering seismology perspective. This includes an examination of ground motion amplitudes, frequency content, and response spectra, and near-fault effects such as fling effect and pulse-like motion. The high-quality near field data at NPW provide valuable information for seismic hazard assessment in the region and offer useful constraints for studies investigating the rupture characteristics of the mainshock, which preliminary findings suggest to have propagated at supershear speed.