Print Print edition: 2011-03-25

Two dead as strong quake hits Myanmar

Published Updated

A strong earthquake struck Myanmar near the Thai border on Thursday, killing at least two people, including a child, officials from both countries said, with shaking felt across south-east Asia. Tremors spread as far away as Bangkok, almost 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of the epicentre, Hanoi and Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.
The quake was initially put at magnitude-7.0 by the the US Geological Survey (USGS), before being revised to 6.8. A powerful aftershock was later measured at magnitude 5.4 by the USGS. The epicentre was close to the borders with Thailand and Laos and was just 10 kilometres (six miles) deep.
The quake struck 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of Chiang Rai in Thailand and 235 kilometres (146 miles) north-north-east of Chiang Mai, Thailand's second city and a popular tourist destination.