6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Central Burma

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 has shaken central Burma, the U.S. Geological Survey says.

The quake hit Wednesday afternoon and was centred about 25 kilometres west of Chauk, an area west of the ancient capital of Bagan in the country that is also known as Myanmar.

The Mynamar Times reported the quake killed four people and damged 68 pagodas.

The USGS said it was located fairly far below the Earth’s surface at a depth of about 84 kilometres. Deep earthquakes generally cause less surface damage than shallow tremors.

However, in the city of Bago, 80 kilometres northeast of Rangoon, there were reports that some pagodas had collapsed.

The quake was felt several hundred kilometres away in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. It was also felt in eastern India.

cbc.ca