At about 12:50 pm (1250 hours) local time, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar, India’s neighbouring country.
The epicenter was 16 kms north-west from Sagaing, one of Myanmar’s largest cities. This is also near Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay.
Twelve minutes later, a 6.4 earthquake was experienced 18 kms south of Sagaing.
Both quakes were shallow – within 10 kilometers from the surface. This means that the impact on the ground was higher.
Tremors were felt in all neighbouring countries, including Thailand, China, and India.
Since then, relief and rescue operations have been launched at a war footing. Myanmar has declared a state of Emergency within the country.
Myanmar Junta, the ruling party, has called for international aid. India has sent aid. China has sent both aid and rescue workers. Malaysia has also promised to send relief workers. UK has promised 10 million pounds in emergency aid.
These relief workers are working to find and free people who may be stuck in the debris of the buildings that were damaged during the earthquake. Most of the victims are in Mandalay and neighbouring areas.
Relief work is hampered because there have been multiple aftershocks of medium intensity in the region. The image below shows the quakes in the region in the last 24 hours.
