Several quakes rattle Myanmar’s largest city, no damage seen

USGS Myanmar 12 January 2018

YANGON, Myanmar – Several earthquakes caused some panic in Myanmar’s largest city early Friday, but no serious injuries or major damage has yet been reported.

Residents said their six-story building shook three times, with the strongest quake lasting at least a minute.

“We were sleeping, but as the building was shaking pretty strong, we all woke up in a panic,” Yangon resident Swe Swe Myint said.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the first quake that occurred just before 1 a.m. was magnitude-6.0 and had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers.

Its epicenter was about 27 kilometers  southwest of Phyu township, about 172 kilometers north of Yangon.

Three quakes of magnitude-5.3 and magnitude-5.2 followed within 20 minutes.

The Myanmar Earthquake Committee said the epicenters were close to at least two dams.

But after daylight broke, no major damage or casualties had yet been reported.     /kga