3/24/11 Burma Earthquake

Updated 3/27/2011

Northern Burma was hit by a 7.0M earthquake Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 13:55 UTC (8:25 pm local time). 74 people were reported killed and 111 injured. 413 buildings were damaged and one bridge destroyed. The epicenter was 365 miles NE of Rangoon in the remote northern part of the country near the border of Laos, Thailand and China. The quake was felt as far away as Hanoi and Bangkok.

This quake follows a 5.4M quake just across the border in southern Yunaan Province in China that caused extensive damage. Initial reports were that 24 people were killed, 207 injured and over 1,000 buildings damaged in that quake.

The quake was caused by the movement of the Indian Plate NNE into the Eurasian Plate at the rate of 45mm(1.77 inches)/yr. This is the collision that has made the Himalayas the tallest mountains on earth. Burma is on the eastern edge of this zone. It is subject to earthquakes as India slides past. (See the Plate Tectonics page for more information on these processes.) The US Geological Survey (USGS) is an invaluable resource in understanding and tracking earthquakes. See the USGS summary of this quake.

See also the following news stories:

* Death toll of Myanmar's earthquake rises to 74, 111 people injured (Xinhua 3/26/11))
* Burma earthquake hits faded drug area (Christian Science Monitor 3/24/11)