The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 22.2 km in eastern Sagaing Region, Myanmar, slightly before 6.25 pm local time (slightly before 11.55 am GMT) on Friday 20 September 2013. This was followed by a second quake 30 minutes later and 9 km to the north, this time a Magnitude 5.5 at a depth of 10 km. This second quake is large enough to be potentially dangerous, with the United States Geological Survey estimating that there is a 61% chance of a quake of this size in this area leading to at least one fatality, though there are no reports of any damage or casualties at the current time.
The approximate location of the 20 September 2013 Myanmar Earthquakes. Google Maps.
Northern Myanmar is an area fairly prone to Earthquakes. It lies close to the margin between the Indian and Eurasian Plates, and suffers tectonic stresses due to the northward movement of the Indian Plate, which is driving into the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 30 mm per year, causing uplift in the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateaux, the mountains of Central Asia, and the bordering hills that separate Myanmar from India and China.
See also Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake in Arunachal Pradesh, India, Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in northern Myanmar, Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake in northwest Myanmar, Earthquake kills at least five in Shangri La and Deqin Counties, Yunnan Province, China and Northern Myanmar shaken by series of Earthquakes.
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