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Earthquake kills four in Myanmar, damages over 180 pagodas
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The Irrawaddy River, seen weaving through Kachin State in northern Myanmar. (AP/Khin Maung Win)
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magnitude 6.8 earthquake with an epicenter about 12 miles west of Chauk Township in Magway Region hit at 5pm on August 24, killing four people and injuring one, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology (DMH).
Tremors were felt in Magway, Bago, Ayeyawady, Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, Sagaing, Shan and Rakhine.
Dr Kyaw Tun from the Myanmar Earthquake Committee said: “There is a fault called ‘Gwaycho’ in Chauk Township, with the ‘Tuyintaung fault’ to the west. The 1975 Bagan earthquake shook Taungoo, Hinthada, Pyay and the delta. This earthquake was shallow. According to the records, the Bagan earthquake was due to the Tuyintaung fault.
“There may be aftershocks in Chauk, Magway or Rakhine. It may take several months, depending on the severity of the original earthquake. Taking a look at the Taungdwingyi and Thabeikkyin earthquakes, a series of aftershocks occurred for six consecutive months,” he added.
The Ministry of Religious and Cultural Affairs said over 185 Bagan pagodas and temples were damaged.
The Parliament in Nay Pyi Taw was apparently damaged, according to MPs. Pagodas and other buildings in Mandalay, Rakhine and Magway showed cracks.
"The epicenter was not in the fault zone but near the Tuyintaung fault. The quake occurred between the Mann segment and the Yenangyaung fault," Dr Yin Myo Min Htwe, assistant director of the DMH earthquake division, said.
Aung Swe Win, deputy director of Myanmar Fire Services Department, said they are carrying out search and rescue operations in Magway and Mandalay, with 35 members for each township. He added that one person died after a building collapsed in Magway Region and a monastery was damaged.
In Yenangyaung and Pakokku townships, Ko Ko Naing, director-general of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, reported that four people have been reported dead.
