Earthquake of magnitude 3.4 hits Myanmar

Naypyidaw [Myanmar], May 1 (ANI): An earthquake of magnitude 3.4 hit Myanmar on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS).

The NCS said that the earthquake occurred at 13:37 Indian Standard Time (IST) at a depth of 30 kilometres.

“EQ of M: 3.4, On: 01/05/2025 13:37:32 IST, Lat: 23.23 N, Long: 94.08 E, Depth: 30 Km, Location: Myanmar," the NCS said in a post on X.

Shallow earthquakes like these are more dangerous than deeper ones due to their greater energy release closer to the Earth’s surface. This causes stronger ground shaking and increased damage to structures and casualties, compared to deeper earthquakes, which lose energy as they travel to the surface.

Although Myanmar is an earthquake-prone country, there has not been proposed an official national seismic hazard map.

Due to the collision between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, Myanmar is an area with a high seismic hazard level. According to the earthquake parameters summarised by the International Seismological Centre, around 140 events with a magnitude greater than or equal to 3.0 have occurred in Myanmar and its vicinity every year from 1990 to 2019. Thus, it is evident that Myanmar is vulnerable to hazards from moderate and large magnitude earthquakes, including tsunami hazards along its long coastline.

The Sagaing Fault increases the seismic hazard for Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, and Yangon, which together represent 46 per cent of Myanmar’s population.

Although Yangon is relatively far from the fault trace, it still suffers from significant risk due to its dense population. For instance, in 1903, an intense earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 that occurred in Bago also struck Yangon.

Earlier on April 22, in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.7 and 6.4 earthquakes that struck central Myanmar on March 28, the World Health Organization (WHO) is warned of a series of rapidly rising health threats for tens of thousands of displaced people in earthquake-affected areas: tuberculosis (TB), HIV, vector- and water-borne diseases.

More than 3.5 million people in Myanmar were already displaced before the earthquakes. Tens of thousands are now homeless, according to the WHO South East Asia statement.

Overcrowded shelters, poor sanitation, damaged infrastructure and limited health services are driving up the risk of disease, compounding an already fragile situation. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)

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