BANGKOK, Thailand – A powerful earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28 at 12:50 PM local time (3:20 PM Japan time), registering a magnitude of 7.7 according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Just 12 minutes later, a strong aftershock measuring 6.4 followed.
Professor Shinji Toda from Tohoku University stated that the earthquake was caused by a rupture along the Sagaing Fault, spanning approximately 200 km. He emphasized that the scale of this seismic event is twice as large as the recent earthquake on the Noto Peninsula.
The epicenter was located near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, home to over 1.2 million people. Experts fear that the destruction could be comparable to the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake in 2023.
Scientists have warned that aftershocks of magnitude 6.0 or higher remain a possibility. They are also closely monitoring other fault lines in the region that may still be at risk of shifting.
