Thursday, March 24, 2011

Earthquake Hits Myanmar at 6.8 Magnitude

At least 60 people have been killed and 90 injured after a robust earthquake struck Myanmar close to its border with Thailand. 

The earthquake on Thursday, which the US Geological Survey (USGS) measured at magnitude 6.8, was felt as far away as Bangkok, virtually 800 kilometres (500 miles) from the epicentre, Hanoi and parts of China.

A Myanmar official mentioned dozens of individuals were killed in areas close to the epicentre and more than 240 buildings had collapsed.

The quake struck ninety kilometres (60 miles) north of Chiang Rai and 235 kilometres (one hundred fifty miles) north-northeast of Chiang Mai, Thailand's second metropolis and a popular vacationer destination. Tall buildings shuddered in Bangkok in the course of the tremor.

Its epicentre was near the borders with Thailand and Laos and was simply 10 kilometres (six miles) deep.

Thailand's meteorological department on Friday said it had registered six large aftershocks following the initial quake.

The quake was felt throughout China's southwest province of Yunnan, in line with state-run China National Radio, but no casualties or structural collapses had been reported as of Friday morning.

Nonetheless, the earthquake reportedly precipitated cracks in some homes and colleges in and around the rugged Xishuangbanna region which borders Myanmar, and concern of aftershocks forced many individuals within the area to spend the night outdoors.

Some residents of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi fled their homes in panic when the quake shook the city.\

for more news read: Yahoo.com

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