Mild quakes hit Myanmar

BANKGOK, December 20 (TNA) - Two mild earthquakes hit Myanmar this morning which could be felt by people in Mae Sai district of Thailand’s northern Chiang Rai province near the common border, particularly those in high rise buildings. Somboon Kositanont, director of the Mineral Resources Office in Lampang province, whose jurisdiction covers 17 northern Thai provinces, told reporters that the first quake, measuring at 4.6 on the Richter scale, occurred at 7:54am local time, resulting from the movement of the Kyau Kyan fault line, which runs in parallel with another fault line named Sagiang. Somboon said that the Kyau Kyan fault line in Myanmar runs toward Mae Sai but, fortunately, it does not connect with a fault line in Chiang Rai’s Mae Chan district. According to the senior official, the second quake of 3.3 intensity on the Ritcher scale hit Myanmar at 9:43am local time, with its epicenter located at 34 kilometers northwest of Mae Sai. The senior official acknowledged that neither casualties nor damages were reported from Thursday morning's quakes in Myanmar, and that the last time the Thai North was hit by an earthquake was on December 2, 2012 when a mild tremor measuring at 2.8 on the Richter scale jolted a district in Chiang Mai province, but there were also no reports of casualties and damages. In an attempt to erase fears among the public, weather experts said, meanwhile, that people should not connect this morning’s quakes with a myth on doomsday as suggested by the Mayan calendar that it would happen on December 21, 2012, noting that quakes are natural incidents and it is normal for Myanmar to encounter frequent quakes, as the neighbouring country has several large and small fault lines. (TNA)