2:15 PM - 2:30 PM
[O12-03] Previous earthquakes in Myanmar and Their damage, especially the earthquake in March 2025
★Invited Papers
Keywords:Sagaing Fault, deadliest earthquakes, Myanmar, supershear
Myanmar has experienced numerous significant earthquakes throughout its history, leading to substantial loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Myanmar is situated in a seismically active region due to the convergence of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Myanmar’s earthquakes are largely concentrated along three main fault systems: (1) Sagaing Fault – A major north-south right lateral strike-slip fault running from the Andaman Sea in the south to the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis in the north. It is the most active fault and has caused many of the country’s major quakes. (2) Shan Plateau Fault System – Located in eastern Myanmar, this area also experiences frequent earthquakes. (3) Rakhine Subduction Zone – Along the western coast, where the Indian plate is subducting beneath the Burma plate. Some of the most impactful seismic events in Myanmar are recorded, Sittwe (1762, 8.5M), Inwa(1839, 7.3M), Pyay (1858, 7.6 to 8.3M), Putao (1906, 7M), Maymyo (1912, 8M), Yatsouth (1912, 8M), Pegu (1930, 7.3M), Naunglaypin (1930, 7.3M), Indawgyi (1931, 7.6M), Tagaung (1946, 7.5M), Sagaing (1956, 7.0M), Pagan (1975, 6.8M), Tagaung (1991, 6.2M), Taungtwingyi (2003, 6.8M), Tarlay (2011, 6.8M), Thabeikgyin (2012, 6.8M), Kalay (2016, 6.9M), Chauk (2016, 6.8M), Mandalay (2025, 7.7). On March 28, 2025, at 12:50:54, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 6.4 struck the Sagaing Region of Myanmar, with the epicenter in Sagaing region, close to Mandalay, the second largest city in Myanmar, at a depth of 10 kilometers. The powerful earthquake was the deadliest to hit Myanmar since 1912. It caused widespread damage in Myanmar and significant damage in neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and China. The earthquake killed more than 3700 people in Myanmar (Myanmar television and news reports) and 42 in Thailand, and one person in Vietnam. Up to 7,860 people were injured, including at a construction site in Bangkok, Thailand. Authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand declared a state of emergency. According to DVB TV News, 5,402 pagodas, 3,841 monasteries, 187 nunneries, 50 churches, 136 mosques, 26 Hindu temples, and 1 Buddhist monastery, a total of more than 9,600 religious buildings were damaged by the earthquake. It is the deadliest earthquake in the world since the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake. NASA scientists released images of the ground movement caused by the Sagaing earthquake on March 28, 2025, showing that the ground shifted by about 3 meters (10 feet) and in some places by more than 6 meters. The length of the fault is about 342 miles (550 kilometers), making it the longest recorded earthquake. The earthquake exhibited a "supershear" rupture, where the fault rupture propagated faster than the seismic waves it produced. According to the United States Geological Survey, nearly 22 million people in Myanmar experienced severe tremors. The earthquake was followed by more than 468 aftershocks by 12 April,2025 according to the Thai Meteorological Department. Structural features, sense of shear and other geological information collected and measured from this earthquake will lead to the understanding of the Sagaing fault and other similar fracture systems that will cause the same earthquake and will provide the knowledge for the determination of risk and damage in future.