The United States Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, about 26 km to the northwest of the city of Shwebo, slightly before 9.40 pm local time (slightly before 3.10 am GMT) on Saturday 31 August 2019.
There are no reports of any injuries following this event,
though some damage to buildings has occurred. People have reported felling the quake across northern Myanmar, as well as in parts of northeastern India, and Yunnan Province, China.
Damage to a pagoda in YayU following an Earthquake in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar on 31 August 2019. Yarza Dhamma Htantapin/Eleven Media.
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
organisation 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...
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