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WIRE:06/08/2000 00:48:00 ET
UPDATE 1-Big quake shakes northern Myanmar YANGON, June 8 (Reuters) - A
earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale shook Myanmar's northern
Kachin state bordering China and India early on Thursday and officials
said there were no immediate reports of casualties from the remote
area.
An official at the Meteorology and Hydrology Department told Reuters the epicentre of the quake, which struck at 4.20 a.m. (2120 GMT), was in Kachin state about 1,440 km (900 miles) north of the capital Yangon. Two hours later another quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale
rocked the same area, he said.
"We think the epicentre may be at a very sparsely populated area," he
added.
"We are still trying to pinpoint the exact place of the epicentre and
figure out the intensity of the aftershock. Since we have not heard
anything from other observatories we can't give more information yet," the
official said.
Chinese officials in Beijing said China's southwestern province of
Yunnan was jolted on Thursday after the first quake hit northern
Myanmar.
The Yunnan earthquake bureau measured the tremor at 7.3 on the
Richter scale, a provincial official told Reuters by telephone. The Hong
Kong Observatory measured the first Myanmar quake at 6.5.
The official said Yunnan recorded the first quake at 5.46 a.m. (2146
GMT Wednesday).
He said the epicentre was 140 km (85 miles) north of the Myanmar town
of Myitkyina. The Hong Kong Observatory put the epicentre 170 km (105
miles) north of the town, which is around 1,000 km (600 miles) from
Yangon, the Myanmar capital.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in China because the
areas most affected were along the border between the two countries which
were difficult to reach, the official said.
An earthquake bureau official in the Yunnan district of Liuku told
Reuters many buildings in the area had been damaged, but there were no
immediate reports of any collapsing.
"We all ran out of our houses when we felt the earthquake. It shook
things off tables," the official said.
It was the second quake to hit China this week and one of several in
Asia.
On Tuesday, 24 people were injured in the northwest Chinese province
of Gansu in a quake that measured 5.9 on the Richter Scale.
The Indonesian island of Sumatra was hit on Sunday by a big 7.9
earthquake that killed at least 120 people and injured nearly 1,300.
On Wednesday, three people were injured in a Japanese
earthquake.
Thursday June 8 8:24 AM ET
Quakes Strike Asia But Are They Linked?By Jason Szep TOKYO (Reuters) - The earth moved in Asia Thursday as powerful aftershocks rocked the west coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, and a series of earthquakes jolted China, Myanmar and Japan. Experts said last Sunday's quake in Indonesia's Bengkulu province, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, may have led to a shift in the huge tectonic plates deep under Asia's seas, prompting the burst of seismic activity this week. Japan was rocked by three fairly strong earthquakes this week, while China and Myanmar were each hit by two. Nearly all measured above five on the open-ended Richter scale. ``It is not unusual to have a sequence of activity on a single seismic belt, some of it can be quite intense,'' said C.M. Tam of the Hong Kong Observatory, referring to the circum Pacific belt stretching from New Zealand across a wide swathe of East Asia. Bengkulu's earthquake, which killed at least 120 people, injured some 1,300 and damaged thousands of homes and buildings, has spawned around 400 aftershocks, seismologists said. The Bengkulu earthquake, which appears to have occurred after a rupture between two key plates -- the Pacific and Indian plates -- may have triggered a chain reaction of seismic activity along the circum Pacific and Eurasia belts, the seismologists said. Professor Ding Jianhai of China's State Seismological Bureau said the Sumatra, Myanmar and China quakes all occurred along the Eurasia seismic belt stretching from the Mediterranean sea through the Himalayas to Indonesia. He described the belt as ``very active'' and said he believed all the tremors were related. ``According to our estimates, there are about average 18 earthquakes at more than seven on the Richter scale globally in a year, mainly in two belts, the Euroasia belt and the belt around the Pacific,'' he said. Aftershocks from the Bengkulu quake included a major tremor measuring 6.2 early Thursday, but most experts expect the aftershocks and other regional seismic activity to wind down steadily. Japan Tremors An official at Japan's Meteorological Agency said Japan has experienced about 20-30 tremors since Sunday's quake in Bengkulu, although he could not say for sure if they were linked to the Sumatran earthquake. ``I think they are connected, but it is difficult to say for sure,'' he told Reuters. Japan's latest tremor struck Thursday at 9:32 a.m. (0032 GMT) on the island of Kyushu, and measured 4.9 on the Richter scale. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Wednesday, a tremor measuring 5.8 hit central Japan, injuring three people but causing no serious damage to buildings. Saturday, another earthquake measuring 5.8 swayed buildings in metropolitan Tokyo, but caused no damage. Japan sits atop the juncture of three tectonic plates, or pieces of the earth's crust. Those three plates -- referred to by geologists as the Asian, Pacific and Philippine plates -- have been at the heart of recent seismic activity. Katsuyuki Abe, professor at Tokyo University's Earthquake Research Institute, however, said linking quakes in Indonesia and Japan was difficult because they were so far apart. China, Myanmar Quakes Linked To Sumatra Two earthquakes rocked Myanmar Thursday, occurring within two hours in the remote northern Kachin state, about 900 miles north of the capital Yangon. There were no reports of casualties. ``We think the epicenter may be at a very sparsely populated area,'' an official said. About 26 minutes after Myanmar's first quake, China's southwestern province of Yunnan felt a tremor measuring 7.3, about 85 miles north of the Myanmar town of Myitkyina. An earthquake bureau official in the Yunnan district of Liuku told Reuters many buildings in the area had been damaged, although there were no immediate reports of casualties. It was the second quake to hit China this week. Tuesday, 24 people were injured in the northwest province of Gansu in a tremor that measured 5.9. Thursday, June 8 9:07 AM SGT Hong Kong observatory reports severe earthquake in MyanmarHONG KONG, June 8 (AFP) - A severe earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck northern Myanmar early Thursday, the Hong Kong observatory reported. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 5.51 am (2151 GMT Wednesday), was determined to be in the northern part of Myanmar, the observatory said. Thursday June 8 8:52 AM ET
Myanmar Shaken by Powerful Quake YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A strong earthquake struck northern Myanmar early
today. The main town nearest the epicenter reported no major damage or
casualties.
The quake occurred at 4:17 a.m., with the epicenter 95 miles north of
Myitkyina, a remote town near the northern tip of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian
country also known as Burma.
An official from Myanmar's meteorology department in Yangon said the quake
had a magnitude of 6.6. The Northern Meteorological Center in Chiang Mai,
Thailand - 550 miles southeast of the epicenter - measured it at 6.35.
Quakes of that strength can cause severe damage if they hit heavily
populated areas. The area where the quake hit, however, is little-developed and
thinly populated.
A second temblor of 5.6 magnitude shook the same area about two hours after
the first, Myanmar's meteorology department said.
People's Daily
Thursday, June 08, 2000, updated at 12:48(GMT+8) China Chinese, Myanmar Leaders Hail 50 Years
of Bilateral Ties
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji Wednesday exchanged
congratulations with Myanmar leader Senior General Than Shwe on the 50th
anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two
countries.
In his message to Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council of Myanmar, Jiang said China and Myanmar are neighboring
countries with long-standing and deep "paukphaw" (brotherly) friendship.
Jiang said the two countries maintain frequent exchanges of high-level
visits in recent years and have continuously expanded bilateral cooperation in
various fields.
These moves, Jiang added, not only are in the basic interests of the two
countries and the two peoples, but also benefit regional peace and stability.
"The Chinese government and people cherish very much the traditional
China-Myanmar friendship and will as always make great efforts to further
promote the good-neighborly and friendly cooperation between the two countries,"
Jiang said.
Than Shwe said in his message that he appreciated the traditional
"paukphaw" friendship between Myanmar and China, adding that the bilateral
friendly cooperation has been developing day by day over the past 50 years on
the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence.
Than Shwe hoped that the two countries will make joint efforts "in the
spirit of mutual understanding, mutual trust and active cooperation to deal with
challenges in all bilateral and multilateral fields."
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, in his message to Than Shwe, who doubles as
prime minister of the Myanmar government, noted that in recent years, the
Chinese and Myanmar peoples have benefited from the growing bilateral trade and
economic and exchanges and cooperation.
China will enhance cooperation with Myanmar in various fields and develop
their good-neighborly friendship in a comprehensive and deep-going way.
Than Shwe said in his message to Zhu that his government is willing to
develop friendship with China through contacts and visits by state leaders and
people of the two countries.
He added that the Myanmar government, on the basis of the principle of
equality and mutual benefits, is willing to enhance trade, investment and
cooperation in the social and cultural fields with China.
On the same day, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Myanmar
counterpart ,Win Ang, also exchanged greetings on the occasion. |