Myanmar earth quake in eastern Shan State
A magnitude 6.8 earth quake hit eastern Shan State close to Thai, Laos and China border, according to State run official media. According to Myanma rRadio and Television (MRTV), the quake hit an area near Keagtong, the capital of eastern Shan State. 74 people died and 111 injured according to State media reports.
According to the state media, the epicenter of the earthquake was near Loimwe, located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Kengtong in eastern Shan State, and the ten locations affected included Tarlay, Mong Linn, Mong Yawng and Tarchileik towns and Kyakuni, Wan Lon, Pa Line, Kong Sar, and An-khan villages.
Among the affected areas, the most hard-hit was Mong Linn, where there were 29 deaths and 16 injured as the earthquake destroyed 128 houses and 5 religious buildings. The second most affected area was Kyakuni Village, where there were 22 deaths and 55 injured with 146 houses destroyed. The third was Tarlay, where there were 11 deaths and 29 injured.
The earthquake also caused a power outage in parts of Tachilek, where at least two electricity transformers had reportedly exploded. The residents in the border town stayed the whole night outside their houses due to the fear of further earthquakes.
An official from the U.N.’s World Food Program said there were many casualties and serious damage in Mong Lin village, five miles (eight kilometers) from Tachileik. State radio said 29 were killed there and 16 injured.
According to US Geological Survey, the quake was 6 miles deep, putting it very close to the surface. Shallow quakes can be very destructive, as evidenced by the 6.3-magnitude quake that hit New Zealand last month.
A few people in near by Thailand were also killed, among them one woman in Mae Sai, across Tachileik, when wall fell down on her.
A witness in the Myanmar town of Tachilek, which borders Chiang Rai, said parked motorcycles fell to the ground and cracks were seen in the road. “I felt I was swaying like a child in a cradle,” said Nutpisut Thongkika, 50, a teacher, in a telephone interview from Chiang Rai. “The situation here was very chaotic when the earthquake hit.”
It was reported that residents near the epicenter in tall buildings were immediately evacuated to a safe place until tremors subsided.
People also left their homes in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw and its biggest city, Yangon, 340 miles away.
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Official death toll now stands at 75.