A slight earthquake measuring 4.0 magnitude hit Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing regions on the morning of 24 June, according to residents.
Yangon residents say they felt it twice in an interval of minutes.
It hit most of Yangon townships at around 10:30 am, and residents of high-rise buildings in Thingangyun, Thuwunna, South Okkalapa, Tamway and Thakayta townships felt it visibly.
“It struck twice. We live on a higher floor, so we felt it visibly. First one happened at around 10:30 am, and the next one came just a few minutes later,” said a Yangon resident.
The quake was also felt in Shwebo and nearby villages.
“I heard a loud noise when I was cleaning indoors. The house was shaken, and so I rushed outside,” said a woman, 45, from Ward 3 in Shwebo.
“It only lasted seconds, but the shallow depth made it feel powerful. The furniture shook, so we rushed outside with the kids. We haven’t heard of any damage yet,” said a Kyaukmyaung resident.
Recently, frequent small quakes occurred in some areas of central Myanmar, which is linked to the Sagaing Fault, and just last week, small quakes of around 3.5 magnitude hit near Sagaing and Mandalay Region.
The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology released the earthquake information, and according to it, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck about 8 miles east of Shwebo on 24 June.
As a disaster response plan, assessment of structural strength to resist earthquakes and natural disasters will be carried out at hospitals, schools and office buildings on 1 July, said Yangon Region Minister for Development Affairs U Myo Myint Aung. — MT/TWA
