List of earthquakes in Myanmar

Last updated

Myanmar is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Oblique subduction, block rotation, and a transform margin has been responsible for the seismic activities of the country. The Sagaing Fault is one of the largest sources of earthquakes in the country, having produced deadly quakes in the past centuries. Along the western coast, offshore Rahkine State, the Sunda Megathrust, where the Indian Plate dives beneath the Burma Plate is capable of producing large events and tsunamis like the 2004 earthquake. Intermediate depth earthquakes east of the Chin Range also pose a risk to people. The Shan Plateau is another source of earthquakes, hosting many active strike-slip faults that accommodate block rotation of the Sunda Plate. [1]

Contents

Notable earthquakes in the history of Myanmar include the following:

Earthquakes

DateLocation Mag. MMI Depth (km)DeathsInjuriesNotes
2023-06-07 Ma-ubin 4.8 mb VII10.03Several buildings and a pagoda damaged in Ma-ubin. [2]
2022-07-21Keng Tung5.9 Mww VII5.0Damage in Keng Tung. Also felt in China, Thailand, and Laos. [3]
2021-11-26Hakha6.2 Mww VIII42.51Minor damage also occurred in Bangladesh. [4]
2018-01-11Bago6.0 Mww VII9.0Felt strongly in many places. [5]
2017-03-13 Yangon 5.1 mb VI10.0236 [6]
2016-08-24 Magway 6.8 Mw VI84.1420Several temples were damaged
2016-04-13 Sagaing 6.9 Mw VI134.82120
2016-01-04 Imphal 6.7 Mww VIII55.011200+
2014-05-23 Kachin5.6 Mw VII8.015
2012-11-11 Sagaing 6.8 Mw VIII9.826Many12 missing
2011-03-24 Shan 6.9 Mw IX12.8151212
2011-03-10 Kachin5.4 Mw VII10.026313
2011-02-04 Monywa 6.4 Mw VI85.01 [7]
2009-08-11 Coco Islands7.5 Mw VII24.0
2008-08-21 Kachin6.0 Mw VII10.05130
2007-12-25Kachin4.8 Mw IV35.019Severe damage [8]
2004-12-26 Coco Islands 9.1–9.3 Mw -30.070–800Rupture extended to the Coco Islands
2003-09-21 Magway6.6 Mwb VII15.81043Damage at Taungdwingyi
1997-11-21 Chittagong 6.1 Mw VI54.423200
1995-07-11 Shan6.8 Mw VIII12.511 [9]
1991-01-05Sagaing7.0 Mw VII19.72 [10]
1988-11-06 Shan7.2 Ms X15.9Aftershock of the Lancang earthquake.
1988-11-06 Shan7.7 Mw IX17.8730–9383,900 [11]
1988-08-06 Sagaing7.3 Mw VIII98.1330Caused some damage in India and was felt in the Soviet Union. At least 30 injured or missing in Bangladesh. [12]
1976-05-29 Yunnan7.0 Mw 10.0982,400+
1975-07-08 Mandalay 7.0 Mw VIII106.8215
1970-07-29Sagaing7.0 Mw 76.1Damage at Assam. [13]
1956-07-16 Sagaing 7.1 Mw VIII34.338
1954-03-21Sagaing7.4 mb 180.0Some damage reported in India. [14]
1952-06-19Shan6.7 Mw VIII10.0Homes collapsed and landslides occurred in Yunnan. [15]
1950-08-15 Assam 8.6 Mw XI15.04,800Rupture partially extended to Burma and was felt strongly [16]
1946-09-12Sagaing7.8 Mw 15.00 Doublet earthquake
1946-09-12 Sagaing 8.0 Mw 15.00
1943-10-23Chin7.2 [17]
1941-12-26 Shan 7.2 Mw 10.0>6 [18]
1938-08-16 Chin 7.2 Ms 75.0 [19]
1932-08-14Sagaing7.0 Ms 110.0Damage at Assam [20]
1931-01-27 Kachin 7.6 Mw IX15.00
1930-12-03 Bago7.3 MwX10.036
1930-07-18 Irrawaddy 50 [21] [22]
1930-05-05 Bago 7.5 Mw X35.0558+204+Tsunami
1929-08-08 Naypyidaw 6.6–7.1 Mw 10.0–15.0Caused some damage. [23]
1929-01-19Kachin5.5 Ms IXDamage at Htawgaw. [24]
1927-12-17Yangon~7.0 Mw Severe damage in northern Yangon [25]
1923-06-22Shan7.2 Mw 25.0 [26]
1922-05-02Shan6.7 Mw 35.0 [27]
1917-07-05Bago Shwemawdaw Pagoda fell.
1912-05-23 Shan 7.8Mw IX15–25.01(?)Several cities damaged [28]
1908-12-12Kachin7.2 Mw 15.0 [29] [30]
1908-12-12Kachin7.2 Mw 15.0 [31]
1906-08Northern Sagaing Fault 7.0 Mw  [32] [33]
1906-06-24 Coco Islands 7.3 Muk  [1] 60.0 km0 [1] [34]
1895/1896YangonDestroyed many buildings in Rangoon.
1858-08-24 Magway7.7 Mw ?An island disappeared. [35] [36] [37] [1]
1843-10-30RahkineMay have triggered a tsunami. [37]
1842-11-11RahkineTsunami recorded at Cheduba Island. [37]
1848-01-03 Rahkine 6.8–7.2 Mw ?Severe shaking at Ramree Island. [38] [39]
1839-03-23 Mandalay 8.1–8.2 Mw XI12-15.0500+Former capital city Inwa destroyed and abandoned.
1762-04-02 Chittagong-Rahkine8.8 Mw XI200+Tsunami
1757-06-04Bago [25]
1750Rahkine [40]
1714-08-04SagaingWaves from a river flooded a nearby city. [41]
1620-06-06MandalayFishes in the Irrawaddy River were killed. [25]
1564-09-13Bago Mahazedi Pagoda destroyed. [25]
1485-07-24SagaingSeveral pagodas fell. [25]
1467Innwa [42]
1429Innwa [42]
Note: Only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.

Tsunamis affecting Myanmar

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of earthquakes</span>

Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from events too weak to be detectable except by sensitive instrumentation, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history. Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities and number of scientific studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of 20th-century earthquakes</span>

This list of 20th-century earthquakes is a list of earthquakes of magnitude 6 and above that occurred in the 20th century. Sone smaller events which nevertheless had a significant impact are also included. After 1900 most earthquakes have some degree of instrumental records and this means that the locations and magnitudes are more reliable than for earlier events.

The 1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake occurred at 12:50 UTC on 21 November in French Haiti, followed by a tsunami. Another earthquake was reported at the same location on 15 September of the same year and it is uncertain whether the two reports refer to the same event.

The 1912 Mürefte earthquake occurred at 03:29 local time on 9 August. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 Mw and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, causing from 216–3000 casualties.

The 1997 Cariaco earthquake occurred on July 9 at 15:24:14 local time with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). With its epicenter near Cariaco, Venezuela, at least 81 people were killed and over 500 were injured. Disruption of power, telephone, and water services was reported. This earthquake was felt in much of northeastern Venezuela and could also be felt in Trinidad and Tobago. This earthquake was on the strike-slip El Pilar Fault.

The 1941 Andaman Islands earthquake struck the Andaman Islands on June 26 with a magnitude of 7.7 to 8.1. Details of this event are poorly known as much of Southeast Asia was in the turmoil of World War II. The quake caused severe damage in the Andaman Islands. The tsunami it triggered was reported along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India and British Ceylon. There may have been damage and deaths in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Thailand due to the tsunami.

The 1930 Pyu earthquake occurred on December 4 at 01:21 local time. The epicenter was located north to Bago, Burma, then part of British India. The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at Mw 7.3, or Ms 7.3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 Hawaii earthquake</span> Earthquake in Hawaii, United States

The 1975 Hawaii earthquake occurred on November 29 with a moment magnitude of 7.7 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The shock affected several of the Hawaiian Islands and resulted in the deaths of two people and up to 28 injured. Significant damage occurred in the southern part of the Big Island totalling $4–4.1 million, and it also triggered a small brief eruption of Kilauea volcano.

The 1897 Mindanao earthquakes occurred on September 20, 1897, at 19:06 UTC and September 21, 1897, at 05:12 UTC. The estimated epicentres of the two earthquakes are identical, lying just off the southwestern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines, south of Basilan island. The earthquakes were originally given estimated magnitudes of 8.6 and 8.7 on the surface wave magnitude scale by Charles Richter, but these were revised downwards by Katsuyuki Abe to 7.4 and 7.5 Ms, respectively. Contemporary reports noted that with few exceptions, all the masonry buildings in Zamboanga and Basilan were left in ruins.

The 1976 Sabah earthquake occurred at 10:56 am on 26 July near Lahad Datu in the eastern portion of Sabah, Malaysia. The moment magnitude 6.3 earthquake is one of the strongest in Malaysia to be recorded by seismic instruments. It had a focal mechanism corresponding to strike-slip faulting. While slightly larger than the 2015 Sabah earthquake, the 1976 event caused less extensive damage, in the form of cracks on several buildings and ground cracks.

The 1974 Lesser Antilles earthquake occurred at 05:50:58 local time on October 8 with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Four people were injured in what the United States' National Geophysical Data Center called a moderately destructive event.

The 1998 Aiquile earthquake occurred on May 22 at 00:48:53 local time in Bolivia. This strike-slip earthquake had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Damage was severe, with at least 95 deaths, 50–150 injuries, and 6,900 homeless.

During April 1819, the area around Copiapó in northern Chile was struck by a sequence of earthquakes over a period of several days. The largest of these earthquakes occurred on 11 April at about 15:00 local time, with an estimated magnitude of Mw 8.5. The other two events, on 3 April between 08:00 and 09:00 local time and on 4 April at 16:00 local time, are interpreted as foreshocks to the mainshock on 11 April. The mainshock triggered a tsunami that affected 800 km of coastline and was also recorded at Hawaii. The city of Copiapó was devastated.

On 29 November, at 14:10 UTC, a magnitude 7.7 Mw earthquake struck off the southern coast of Taliabu Island Regency in North Maluku, Indonesia. At least 41 people were killed on the nearby islands and a tsunami was triggered. Several hundred homes, buildings and offices were damaged or destroyed.

The 1979 Yapen earthquake occurred on September 12 at 05:17:51 UTC. It had an epicenter near the coast of Yapen Island in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Measuring 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and having a depth of 20 km (12 mi), it caused severe damage on the island. At least 115 were killed due to shaking and a moderate tsunami.

The 1941 Hyūga-nada earthquake occurred off the coast of Kyushu, Japan at 19:02 local time on November 19. The earthquake measured 8.0 Mw  and had a depth of 35 km (22 mi). A JMA seismic intensity of 5 was observed in Miyazaki City and Nobeoka City in Miyazaki Prefecture, and Hitoyoshi City in Kumamoto Prefecture. Due to the earthquake, a tsunami with a maximum wave height of 1.2 m was observed in Kyushu and Shikoku. The tsunami washed away many ships. Twenty-seven homes were destroyed and two people were killed. In Miyazaki, Ōita and Kagoshima prefectures, telephone services were disrupted. Subsidence by 8 cm (3.1 in) was recorded at Hyūga, Miyazaki. At Nobeoka, stone walls and embankments were damaged while roads cracked. It was felt as far as central Honshu.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Yu Wang. "Earthquake Geology of Myanmar" (PDF). Dissertation– via Caltech.
  2. ↑ "မအူပင်မြို့အနီးဗဟိုပြု ငလျင်လှုပ်ခတ် သီလရှင်နှစ်ဦးအပါအဝင် ၃ဦး အုတ်တံတိုင်းပိ၍သေဆုံးဟုကနဦးသတင်းရရှိ" (in Burmese). People's Spring. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ↑ "M 5.9 - 53 km S of Kēng Tung, Myanmar". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  4. ↑ "M 6.2 - 19 km SW of Hakha, Myanmar". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "M 6.0 - 40km WSW of Pyu, Burma". USGS.
  6. ↑ "M 5.1 - 34km SE of Tharyarwady, Burma". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  7. ↑ "Significant earthquakes in Burma". Worlddata.info. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  8. ↑ "M 4.8 - 46 km SE of Bhamo, Myanmar". earthquake.usgs.gov.
  9. ↑ "M 6.8 - Myanmar". US Geological Survey.
  10. ↑ "M 7.0 - Myanmar". US Geological Survey.
  11. ↑ "M 7.7 - Myanmar-China border region".
  12. ↑ "M 7.3 - Myanmar". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
  13. ↑ "M 7.0 - Myanmar". USGS.
  14. ↑ "ISC Bulletin Event 890450 Myanmar". International Seismological Centre.
  15. ↑ "M 6.7 - Myanmar-China border region". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  16. ↑ A. Coudurier-Curveur, P. Tapponnier, E. Okal, J. Van der Woer, E. Kali, d, S. Choudhury, S. Baruah, M. Etchebes, Ç. Karakaş (1 February 2020). "A composite rupture model for the great 1950 Assam earthquake across the cusp of the East Himalayan Syntaxis". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 531: 115928. Bibcode:2020E&PSL.53115928C. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115928 . hdl: 10356/136999 .{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ↑ "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA NCEI.
  18. ↑ "Significant Earthquake CHINA: YUNNAN PROVINCE". NGDC.
  19. ↑ "Event 902629 Myanmar-India border region". International Seismological Centre.
  20. ↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  21. ↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  22. ↑ Nutalaya, Prinya; Sodsri, Sopit (1983). Earthquakes data of Thailand and adjacent areas: 624 B.C. - 1983 A.D. (PDF). Thailand: Geological Society of Thailand.
  23. ↑ "M 6.6 - Myanmar". USGS.
  24. ↑ National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. "Significant Earthquake Information". doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K . Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Soe Thura Tun, Tint Lwin Swe (2009). "Earthquake and Tsunami Hazard in Myanmar". Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 3 (2): 43–57. doi:10.1142/S1793431109000482. S2CID   128773603.
  26. ↑ "Event 911420 Myanmar-China border region". International Seismological Centre.
  27. ↑ "Event 911885 Myanmar". International Seismological Centre.
  28. ↑ "M 7.5 - Myanmar" . Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  29. ↑ "M 7.0 - Myanmar". USGS.
  30. ↑ "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA NCEI.
  31. ↑ "M 7.3 - 62 km S of Bhamo, Myanmar". USGS.
  32. ↑ Soe Thura Tun & Watkinson, I. M. 2016. The Sagaing Fault. In: BARBER, A. J., Rido, M. F., Khin Zaw & Rangin, C. (eds.) Myanmar: Geology, Resources and Tectonics. Geological Society, London, Memoir.
  33. ↑ Xiong, X., B. Shan, Y. M. Zhou, S. J. Wei, Y. D. Li, R. J. Wang, and Y. Zheng (2017). "Coulomb stress transfer and accumulation on the Sagaing Fault, Myanmar, over the past 110 years and its implications for seismic hazard". Geophysical Research Letters. American Geophysical Union. 48 (10): 4781–4789. Bibcode:2017GeoRL..44.4781X. doi:10.1002/2017GL072770. hdl: 10220/46403 . S2CID   55509712.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ↑ "ISC Event 16957909". International Seismological Centre.
  35. ↑ Oldham, Thomas (1883). "A Catalogue of Indian Earthquakes from the earliest time to the end of AD 1869". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. XIX, Part 3.
  36. ↑ "January to June 1859; Serampore, Friends of India Press, 1859 March 1859; Page 8". The Calcutta Review. XXXII.
  37. 1 2 3 Edris Alam, Dale Dominey-Howes, Catherine Chagué (2011). "Tsunamis of the northeast Indian Ocean with a particular focus on the Bay of Bengal region—A synthesis and review". Earth-Science Reviews. 114 (1–2): 175. Bibcode:2012ESRv..114..175A. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.05.002.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  38. ↑ Bhaskar Kundu, V.K.Gahalaut (2011). "Earthquake occurrence processes in the Indo-Burmese wedge and Sagaing Fault region" (PDF). Tectonophysics. 524: 135–146. Bibcode:2012Tectp.524..135K. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2011.12.031.
  39. ↑ J. Bruce H. Shyu, Chung-Che Wang, Yu Wang, Chuan-Chou Shen, Hong-Wei Chiang, Sze-Chieh Liu, Soe Min, Oo Than, Soe Thura Tun (2018). "Upper-plate splay fault earthquakes along the Arakan subduction belt recorded by uplifted coral microatolls on northern Ramree Island, western Myanmar (Burma)". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 484.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ↑ Berninghausen, William H. (1966). "Tsunamis and seismic seiches reported from regions adjacent to the Indian Ocean". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 56 (1): 69. Bibcode:1966BuSSA..56...69B. doi:10.1785/BSSA0560010069.
  41. ↑ "Tsunami Event Information". NOAA NCEI.
  42. 1 2 MacRae, G. A.; Myint, U. T.; Jain, S. K. (2011-06-30). "Steps in earthquake proofing a country: A case study of Myanmar". Bulletin of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering. 44 (2): 87–98. doi: 10.5459/bnzsee.44.2.87-98 . ISSN   2324-1543. S2CID   203185319 . Retrieved 2022-08-02.

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