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Myanmar earthquake: 5.5 magnitude quake hits near Meiktila, one of biggest aftershocks since March 28 temblor
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit near Myanmar's Meiktila today, adding to anxiety after the devastating 7.7 quake on March 28.
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck on Sunday morning near Meiktila, a small city in central Myanmar, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake came as Myanmar is carrying out relief efforts following a massive 7.7-magnitude temblor on March 28 that killed 3,649 people.
The epicentre of the latest quake was roughly hallway between Mandalay, Myanmar's second-biggest city, which suffered enormous damage and casualties in last month's earthquake, and Naypyitaw, the capital, where several government offices were then damaged.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties caused by the new quake, one of the strongest of hundreds of aftershocks from the March 28 earthquake.
Myanmar's Meteorological Department said Sunday's quake took place in the area of Wundwin township, 97 kilometers south of Mandalay, at a depth of 20 kilometers. The US Geological Survey estimated the depth at 7.7 km.
Sunday's earthquake occurred on the morning of the first day of Myanmar's three-day Thingyan holiday, which celebrates the traditional New Year. Public festivities for the holiday had already been cancelled.
Citing two Wundwin residents, The Associated Press reported the quake was so strong that people rushed out of buildings and that ceilings in some dwellings were damaged. A resident of Naypyitaw also reached by phone said he did not feel the latest quake.
Those contacted asked not to be named for fear of angering the military government, which prefers to closely control information.
The United Nations last week warned that damage caused by the March 28 quake would worsen the existing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, where a civil war had already displaced more than 3 million people.
It said the quake severely disrupted agricultural production and that a health emergency loomed because many medical facilities in the quake zone were damaged or destroyed.
