Strong earthquake strikes Myanmar

A 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Burma has killed up to 10 people overnight.

The earthquake struck at 8.25pm Burmese time (2.55am NZT) at a depth of 5.8km, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake was centred near where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, 89km north of Chiang Rai, Thailand, 168km south south-west of Yunjinghong, China and 589km north-east of Rangoon, Myanmar (Burma).

No tsunami warning was issued as the quake struck far enough inland of the Indian Ocean.

A woman in an area north of Chiang Rai, just 4km from the border, died when a brick wall collapsed on her, according to police Captain Weerapon Samranjai.

"It was like somebody was running on the roof. Everybody was in a panic. They came out of their houses and wondered what happened," said Major General Mongkol Sampawapon, a police chief from another district near Chiang Rai.

Burmese official told AFP the youngster died in a town close to the border with Thailand.

"We received a report that a child was killed in Tachileik town when a building collapsed because of the quake," said the official.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the Myanmar side, a remote area where communications, even in the best of times, are difficult. The country's military-controlled government also tightly controls information.

However, the Xinhua news agency in China reported that at least 10 people were killed as a result of landslides and a building collapse in Myanmar's northeastern Shan state.

The USGS said 600,000 people could feel shaking anywhere from strong to violent. It added that since buildings in the area are considered vulnerable, moderate to very heavy damage could be expected.

Buildings swayed in Bangkok, about 770km south of the epicenter.

Max Jones, an Australian resident of the Thai capital, was in his 27th-floor apartment when his building started shaking so hard he had to grab the walls to keep from falling.

"It was bloody scary, I can tell you," he said. Jones said he could see people running in the streets.

- NZ HERALD/AFP/AP