HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

March 25, 2011. More than 60 killed in Myanmar-Laotian-Thai border earthquake

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

More than 60 people were killed on March 24th when a magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale earthquake struck in Myanmar, some 110km (70 miles) from the northern Thai city of Chiang Rai near the Myanmar-Laotian-Thai border, the U.S. Geological Survey and local media said on March 25th. The earthquake was felt as far away as Bangkok or Hanoi. Officials feared that casualties could be much higher.

State radio in Myanmar said that some 65 people were killed and 111 others injured, while some 244 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries, and nine government buildings were damaged. Tachileik town and its surrounding villages in Myanmar's Shan state bore the brunt of the earthquake. Officials struggled to reach isolated communities in the remote districts of Kengtung and Tachileik to assist earthquake victims.

In Thailand, the earthquake injured dozens of people in Chiang Rai, damaged local buildings, and damaged paddy fields. The quake affected an area of Thailand spanning from Chaengsaen to Mae Sai. One woman died in Chiang Rai province after a wall collapsed on her. Officials in Laos reported only limited damages and no casualties.