How was Myanmar’s earthquake caused?

• The March 28 earthquake in Myanmar, originating in central Myanmar, caused a magnitude 7.7 earthquake and several strong aftershocks.
• The earthquake affected the entire region, leaving thousands dead and destroying many homes.
• The damage zone extended to Bangkok, the capital of neighboring Thailand, which was about 1,000 km from the earthquake’s epicenter.
• The total death toll in the region could reach well over 10,000.
• Mandalay, home to over 1.5 million people, was hit the hardest, with many buildings either partially damaged or completely collapsed.
• The devastation was concentrated in the southern areas of the Sagaing fault due to its thicker pile of alluvium, which amplifies the seismic energy.
• The historic city of Bagan in Central Myanmar has also been subjected to several damaging earthquakes.
• The depth to the source of the 2025 earthquake on the Sagaing fault was only 10 km, contributing to the heavy damage and a large felt area.
• The neighbouring eastern parts of India also escaped damage because the energy released by the earthquake dispersed in a north-south direction.
• Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, is highly prone to earthquakes due to its proximity to the complex assemblage of some of the largest tectonic features on earth.
• The earthquake of 1792 was a great ‘megathrust’ earthquake of magnitude 8.5, with its epicentre located along the Arakan coast of Myanmar.
• The 2025 Mandalay earthquake in Central Myanmar was sourced from within the continental part of the mountain range.

Geodynamic Context of the Sagaing Fault
• The northeast-directed convergence of the India and Eurasia plates results in a slanted fashion, causing strain partitioning.
• The Sagaing fault forms the tectonic boundary between the Central Myanmar Lowlands and the Indo-Burman Range.
• The Burma plate, an elongated micro-tectonic block between the Indian plate and the Sagaing fault, is a result of strain partitioning at the subduction front.
• The Sagaing fault accommodates about 50-55% of the overall plate motion in the region.
• The fault system runs 1,400km between the spreading center under the Andaman Sea in the south to the eastern Himalayan bend in the north.
• The 2025 earthquake is part of the earthquakes occurring sequentially on this structure to release accumulating stresses from active plate interactions.

The Mandalay Earthquake Portends
• Historical records support the occurrence of an earthquake in 1839, the Ava earthquake, that killed over 500 people in central Myanmar.
• The earthquake of 1927, felt strongly north of Yangon, and an earthquake in 1946, possibly on the Sagaing fault north of Mandalay, have also occurred.
• The historic city of Bagan in Central Myanmar has also been subjected to several damaging earthquakes.
• The 2025 Mandalay earthquake serves as a warning to India, the country most prone to earthquakes in South Asia, to introduce scientifically tested safety measures and procedures to mitigate the impact of earthquakes.