A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked central Myanmar on March 28 at about 12:50 p.m. local time, leaving at least 144 people confirmed dead so far and triggering widespread damage across both Myanmar and Thailand. Buildings collapsed, roads broke and at least one dam and a bridge crumbled. A magnitude 6.4 aftershock followed just 10 minutes later.
With both countries declared disaster areas, international aid workers are scrambling to prepare supplies and assess the death toll and damages. Marie Manrique, Myanmar program coordinator for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told reporters March 28 that the organization is particularly concerned about damages to public infrastructure, including large-scale dams.
An earthquake’s devastation is the result not only of its magnitude, but also its location and depth: Shallow quakes, even if they’re less powerful, can cause intense shaking at the ground surface, posing threats to infrastructure in populated areas. This quake had a trifecta of dangers: It was powerful; shallow, with the epicenter at just 10 kilometers depth; and in a heavily populated region with vulnerable buildings and other structures.
Here are three things to know about how and why this earthquake occurred.
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