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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Powerful quake in NE Myanmar kills more than 70 |
| 2011-03-26 |
| [Arab News] YANGON, Myanmar: A powerful earthquake that toppled homes in northeastern Myanmar has killed more than 70 people, and there were fears Friday the toll would mount as conditions in more remote areas became known. The Thursday night quake, measured at a magnitude 6.8 by the US Geological Survey, was centered just north of the town Tachileik in the mountains along the Thai border. It was felt hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in the Thai capital Bangkok and Vietnamese capital Hanoi. Myanmar state radio announced Friday that 74 people had been killed and 111 injured in the quake, but was updating the total frequently. It said that 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries and nine government buildings were damaged. An official from the UN's World Food Program said there were many casualties and serious damage in Mong Lin village, five miles (eight kilometers) from Tachileik. State radio said 29 were killed there and 16 injured. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that 15 houses collapsed in the town of Tarlay, where state radio said 11 were killed and 29 injured. Another UN official said a small hospital there was partially damaged as well as a bridge, making it difficult to access the town. The newspaper said another two people were killed in Tachileik, including a 4-year-old boy. It said six people were maimed in the town, which is just across the border from Mae Sai in Thailand's Chiang Rai province. In Mae Sai, one woman was killed when a wall fell on her, according to Thai police, but damage was otherwise minimal. The second UN official said medicine would be sent to the affected areas as soon as possible along with an assessment team in cooperation with the Myanmar Red Thingy Society. |
| Posted by:Fred |