6.8 Earthquake in Northeast Myanmar
25/03/2011 9:35 pm
At least 11 people have been killed by a magnitude-6.8 earthquake in Burma which hit near the borders with Laos and Thailand, officials say. Initial reports from our OMF International leaders indicate all our workers are well.
From BBC:
Northeast Burma Hit by 6.8-magnitude Earthquake
At least 11 people have been killed by a magnitude-6.8 earthquake in Burma which hit near the borders with Laos and Thailand, officials say.
It struck at 1355 GMT and was centred about 70 miles (110 km) from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake was shallow, at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km). It struck in a sparsely populated and remote area, but tremors could be felt as far away as Bangkok and Hanoi. There are fears the casualties could be much higher. A Burmese official told AFP news agency that 25 people had been killed in the town of Tarlay alone.
The official said five monasteries and 35 buildings in the town had collapsed and that roads in the area had been damaged, making access for rescue parties difficult. One woman in Thailand's Chiang Rai province, close to the epicentre, was killed when a wall collapsed.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok said it could be a while before the extent of the damage is known. Earlier reports suggested there had been two strong earthquakes moments apart in the same area, but the USGS later clarified that there had been just one quake.
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