Sunday, March 27, 2011

Earthquake in Burma (Myanmar)

Botswana Gazette (March 27, 2011)
() Many have been killed and injured since an earthquake hit Burma on Thursday, particularly eastern Shan state, where Burma, Thailand, and Laos meet to form the golden triangle, about 50 km from the epicenter of the quake.

An earthquake of about 7.0 magnitude hit Burma. The earthquake struck near the [Golden Triangle] border shared between Burma, Thailand, Laos, and China. The quake reverberated as far as Thailand and Vietnam. Myanmar state radio announced that the latest number they got of people killed was 74 and 111 injured in the quake. But the total will be frequently updated. It is said that some 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries, and 9 government buildings were destroyed. The state-run New Light of Myanmar [propaganda arm] newspaper reported that 15 houses collapsed in the town of Tarlay, where at least 11 people were killed and 29 injured. Another U.N. official said a small hospital there was partially damaged as well as a bridge, making it difficult to access the town. Another two people were killed in the Thai border town of Tachileik, including a 4-year-old boy. Six more people were injured in the town, just across the border from Mae Sai in Thailand's Chiang Rai province. Fears of a tsunami have been allayed as the earthquake was reported to be an inland surface quake.

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