An earthquake, measuring at 6.4 on the Richter scale, struck Kengtung of Shan state in Myanmar on Friday morning at 8.37am. It was followed by four aftershocks, according to the Meteorological Department.
The epicentre of the quake was reported to be about nine kilometres underground at latitude 21.189 and longitude 99.344 and about 100 kilometres to the northwest of Mae Sai district in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Rai.
There were no reports of damage or casualties, but the tremors were felt by people in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Nan and Bangkok.
In Chiang Rai, it is reported that students at some schools fled from their classrooms and gathered outside and medical staff, patients and visitors rushed out of Mae Fah Luang Hospital, while passengers at Mae Fah Luang airport ran out of the passenger terminal.
Kanchit Chomphudaeng, chief of the Chiang Rai public disaster prevention and mitigation office, said he is expecting damage reports to flow in later today.
He said he has asked officials in all districts in the province, especially Mae Sai and Chiang Saen districts, to conduct surveys and to report back to his office as soon as possible.
Tinnakorn Thathong, inspector of the Department of Mineral Resources, said that a 6.4 magnitude quake is regarded as big and it was caused by the movement of the Kengtung fault line in Shan state, adding that this is the first recorded time that a quake has been caused by this fault line.
