Today at 8.25pm local time an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 hit northeastern Burma along the borders of Thailand and Laos. No initial reports of casualties or damage have been reported however approximately 600,000 people would have felt strong to violent shaking. Residential homes in this area are very vulnerable to moderate to heavy damage because they are made of mostly wood and unreinforced brick construction so reports of damage are to be expected. Landslides are also more prone to happen in these hilly areas when seismic activity occurs.

The nearest populated city was Mae Sai, with a population of 28,000. Effects were also felt in Bangkok, Thailand where buildings were reported to have swayed. People were also been said to have felt it in Hanoi, Vietnam. Because the area is so far inland though, no tsunamis will be a result of this quake.


To put the magnitude into perspective by comparison, the January 2010 earthquake that killed 230,000 people in Haiti was measured at 7.0; the February 2010 earthquake that shook Chile was rated at 6.8; and the Japan earthquake on March 11 was a 9.0 magnitude event.


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