Strong quake in Myanmar has no serious impact on Thailand

LAMPANG, THAILAND, August 25 (TNA) - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck neighbouring Myanmar and was triggered by the movement of the Arakan fault on August 24 has had no serious impact on Thailand so far. Tossaporn Nut-anong, Director-General of the Department of Natural Resources, under the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, told journalists of the update on Thursday, a day after people in several Thai areas, including those in high-rise buildings in Bangkok, felt the temblor, which jolted Myanmar on Wednesday evening (at about 5:34pm Thailand's time). Tossaporn explained that the geological map showed the quake was caused by tectonic plates which slipped along the Arakan fault line, the one that triggered the late 2004 massive tsunami in areas along the Indian Ocean coast. "Thailand has to monitor faults lying in the country as some are still active and an earthquake is unpredictable, but the public should not be panic", the senior official suggested. Meanwhile, Director of the Mineral Resources Office in Lampang Tinnakorn Thathong confirmed that concerned officials have monitored the situation and found no serious impact on Thailand as the epicentre of Wednesday's strong quake in northern Myanmar is about 400 kilometres away. The powerful earthquake in central Myanmar, however, reportedly killed at least three people and damaged nearly 200 pagodas in ancient Bagan City, also a most famous archaeological site in Myanmar. (TNA)