Sunday 1 September 2019

Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar.

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.
   
The movement of the Burma and surrounding plates. Sheth et al. (2011).

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...
 
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/08/landslide-kills-at-least-61-in-mon.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/07/landslide-kills-at-least-nineteen-at.html
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/05/magnitude-51-earthquake-in-sagaing.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/04/collapse-at-myanmar-ruby-mine-kills-two.html
https://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2019/04/mudslide-at-myanmar-jade-mine-kills.htmlhttps://sciencythoughts.blogspot.com/2018/11/magnitude-52-earthquake-in-chine-state.html
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