Monday 5 May 2014

Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake in Chiang Rai Province, northern Thailand.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 7.4 km in southern Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand slightly before 6.10 pm local time (slightly before 11.10 am GMT) on Monday 5 May 2014. The quake was felt across much of northern Thailand and southern Myanmar, and there are reports of minor damage to buildings and roads in several areas, though no reports of any injuries.

Damage to a house following the 5 May 2014 Chiang Rai Province Earthquake. AP.

Northern Thailand is not greatly prone to Earthquakes, but does suffer the occasional event. It lies close to the margin between the Indian and Eurasian Plates, and suffers tectonic stresses due to the northward movement of the Indian Plate, which is driving into the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 30 mm per year, causing uplift in the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateaux, the mountains of Central Asia, and the bordering hills that separate Myanmar from India and China.

The approximate location of the 5 May 2014 Chiang Rai Earthquake. Google Maps.

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