The 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people, with 3,400 others affected.
“The region where Myanmar and Thailand are located sits on an active subduction zone [area of specific lithospheric collision],» explains Dr. Cao Dinh Trieu, a Vietnamese geophysicist, adding that it is connected to the fault that caused the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, one of the most powerful in recorded history.
“This is precisely why the threat of strong earthquakes in Myanmar should not be taken lightly,” he tells Sputnik.
«Strong earthquakes frequently occur in Myanmar, as well as in northern Laos and northern Thailand, similar to north-western Vietnam. These areas contain deep fault lines, making powerful underground tremors possible,” agrees Professor Nguyen Hong Phuong, chairman of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Geophysics in Vietnam.
