Earthquake of magnitude 4.3 jolts Myanmar: What travellers need to know

Earthquakes, fault lines and your Myanmar trip: What you should know as an earthquake, shakes up Myanmar; occurred at a depth of 125km.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.3 on Richter Scale jolted Myanmar on Sunday, a statement by the National Centre for Seismology said.

As per the NCS, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 125km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 4.3, On: 09/03/2025 13:25:12 IST, Lat: 25.03 N, Long: 95.28 E, Depth: 125 Km, Location: Myanmar.”

Earlier on March 3, an earthquake of magnitude 4.2 on Richter Scale jolted Myanmar, a statement by the National Centre for Seismology said.

“EQ of M: 4.2, On: 03/03/2025 10:15:49 IST, Lat: 24.85 N, Long: 95.93 E, Depth: 10 Km, Location: Myanmar.”

Shallow earthquakes like this one are more dangerous than deeper ones due to their greater energy release closer to the Earth's surface, causing stronger ground shaking and increased damage to structures and casualties, compared to deeper earthquakes which lose energy as they travel to the surface.

Although Myanmar is an earthquake-prone country, there has not been proposed an official national seismic hazard map.

Due to the collision between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates, Myanmar is an area with a high seismic hazard level. According to the earthquake parameters summarized by the International Seismological Centre around 140 events with magnitude greater than or equal to 3.0 have taken place in Myanmar and its vicinity every year from 1990 to 2019.Thus, it is evident that Myanmar is vulnerable to hazards from moderate and large magnitude earthquakes, including tsunami hazards along its long coastline.

The Sagaing Fault elevates the seismic hazard for Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, and Yangon, which together represent 46 per cent of the population of Myanmar. Although Yangon is relatively far from the fault trace, it still suffers from significant risk due to its dense population. For instance, in 1903, an intensive earthquake with magnitude 7.0 that occurred in Bago also struck Yangon.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.