Moderate earthquake shakes Myanmar’s biggest city; 1 injured

YANGON, Myanmar – A moderate earthquake shook Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, on Monday night, injuring at least one person and damaging some temples, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 5.1 and was centred about 70 kilometres (44 miles) northwest of Yangon at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles). Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage.

There were several aftershocks.

Emergency workers said parts of some temples in Taikkyi township fell down. They said one woman was sent to a hospital after being hit by falling debris, but there was no word on her condition.

Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many of the quakes occur in sparsely populated areas, causing relatively little damage. Older buildings and structures are most vulnerable.

In August last year, a 6.8 magnitude quake struck central Myanmar, killing at least four people and damaging at least 171 pagodas at the famous archaeological site of Bagan, whose structures are more than seven centuries old.