The United States Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km about 33 km to the southeast
of the town of Tharyarwady in the Bago Region of Myanmar, slightly before 8.50 pm local time (slightly before 2.20 pm GMT) on Monday 13 March 2017. There are no reports of any damage or injuries following this event, though a large number of people have reported feeling it around the city of Yangon, as well as as far away as northern Thailand.
The approximate location of the 13 March 2017 Tharyawady Earthquake. USGS.
Myanmar
is an area fairly prone to Earthquakes; much of the country lies on the
Burma Plate, a small tectonic plate caught between the Eurasian Plate
to the northeast, the Indian Plate to the west and southwest and the
Sunda Plate to the southeast. As these larger plates move together the
Burma Plate is being squeezed and fractured, with a major fault line,
the Kabaw Fault, having formed across much of the north of the country,
along which the Burma Plate is slowly splitting. Most Earthquakes in the
region are caused by movement on this fault.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organization Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who
may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
