Rescue staff stroll previous particles of a building website after a constructing collapsed in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, following an earthquake. A robust earthquake rocked central Myanmar on March 28, buckling roads in capital Naypyidaw, damaging buildings and forcing individuals to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailand. (Photograph by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)
Early Friday, a significant 7.7 magnitude earthquake that originated close to Mandalay, Myanmar, shook the Earth so far as Bangkok, about 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) away.
Two hard-hit cities in Myanmar suffered in depth harm, with photos from the capital, Naypyidaw, displaying rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of collapsed buildings. Authorities in Bangkok mentioned deaths had occurred at three building websites, together with a high-rise that collapsed.
Specialists say the earthquake, which occurred alongside the Sagaing Fault, was near the Earth’s floor, producing intense seismic forces. Preliminary estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey present that almost 800,000 individuals in Myanmar might have been throughout the zone of essentially the most violent shaking and that dying tolls exceeding 1,000 individuals, and maybe a lot larger, are possible.
What are earthquakes and why do they occur in sure components of the world?
The Earth’s crust is damaged up into a number of items referred to as tectonic plates, which match collectively like a jigsaw puzzle.
This formation is “principally steady, however alongside the sides they’re transferring,” Columbia College geophysicist Michael Steckler mentioned.
Stress builds up when sliding plates get caught, growing “very slowly for many years or for lots of of years, after which impulsively the rock plates will bounce,” triggering shaking that causes an earthquake, Steckler mentioned.
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Earthquakes sometimes happen alongside edges of tectonic plates. However their impacts could also be felt in a broader area.
Earthquakes that happen within the ocean don’t at all times entice consideration, however those who happen near the place individuals dwell could cause deaths and accidents, most frequently from collapsed buildings.
What do scientists learn about earthquakes upfront?
Scientists have a good suggestion of the place earthquakes are more likely to happen, “however we are able to’t predict after they’ll happen,” USGS seismologist Will Yeck mentioned.
Nevertheless, after the preliminary massive earthquake, researchers are capable of venture that different smaller earthquakes close by, referred to as aftershocks, are probably.
Aftershocks are triggered “due to modifications to emphasize within the Earth from the principle shock,” Yeck mentioned.
Given the magnitude of the quake in Myanmar, “you’ll in all probability see aftershocks for the subsequent a number of months,” Steckler mentioned.
What do you have to do when you’re in a constructing when earthquake shaking begins?
In areas of the world with recognized lively fault strains, together with California and Japan, constructing codes are sometimes designed to resist earthquakes. However that’s not true in all places.
“When you really feel shaking, the steering relies on the place you’re on the planet,” Yeck mentioned.
In lots of nations, together with the USA, when you’re inside when an earthquake happens, it’s advisable to drop to the bottom, cowl your head — for instance, by crawling below a desk or different sturdy construction — and maintain onto that construction, he mentioned. Attempt to keep away from areas close to glass home windows and don’t use constructing elevators.
When you’re exterior, attempt to stay in an space away from buildings or bushes that might fall.
Relying on the situation, there could also be secondary hazards triggered by earthquakes, comparable to landslides, fires or tsunamis, he mentioned.
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