The Tectonics Behind the Myanmar Quake

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday afternoon local time near the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay. The quake caused extensive damage across Myanmar and also toppled a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok, Thailand, more than 600 miles away. After the quake, the Myanmar military junta declared a state of emergency in six regions and confirmed more than 100 people killed and many hundreds injured, while Thai officials reported at least seven deaths and scores of people missing. A report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the death toll will likely exceed 1,000, and could even surpass 10,000 given the quake’s epicenter near populated areas. Myanmar sits atop one of the most tectonically active regions in the world, along a 9,300-mile swathe of land called the Alpide Belt, which extends across the southern region of Eurasia, from the Mediterranean, eastward through Asia, and into the East Indies. The Alpide belt is one of thr ... Read full article.