The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a depth of 22 km about 50 km to the north of Monywa in the Sagaing Region, Myanmar, slightly before 3.05 pm local
time (slightly before 8.35 am GMT) on Friday 27 November 2015. There
are no reports of any casualties arising from this event,but damage to numerous pagodas (religious shrines) has been reported in the area.
Damage to a pagoda in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, following the 27 November 2015 Earthquake. Earthquake Report.
Northern Myanmar is an area fairly prone to Earthquakes Much of Myanmar 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 approximate location of the 27 November 2015 Sagaing Earthquake. Google Maps.
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.
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