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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
First-of-its-kind video captures the terrifying moment the ground tore apart during major Myanmar earthquake
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A video showing the ground tearing apart in a major earthquake in Myanmar in March may be the first of its kind. The video captures a ground rupture, the ripping of Earth's crust all the way up to the surface, during a major earthquake. The magnitude 7.7 quake struck on March 28 at 12:50 p.m. local time and was felt as far away as Thailand. Nearly 5,500 people died. The video, posted on Facebook by Singaporean engineer Htin Aung, comes from GP Energy Myanmar's Thapyawa solar farm, located near the town of Thazi, according to Aung's post. The feed is centered on a concrete-and-metal gate, which shudders and slides open as the earth begins to move. About 14 seconds into the video, a crack opens across the driveway and yard outside the gate, with the ground literally pulling apart. "It's really kind of unsettling," said John Vidale, a seismologist at the University of Southern California Dornsife. Vidale told Live Science he knew of no other videos that show such a ground rupture. Rick Aster, a geophysicist at Colorado State University, concurred. "To my knowledge, this is the best video we have of a throughgoing surface rupture of a very large earthquake," Aster told Live Science. The Myanmar quake occurred on the Sagaing Fault between the Burma and Sunda tectonic plates, two minor tectonic plates. This fault slices through central Myanmar in a straight line, north to south. It's a transform fault, just like California's famous San Andreas, where the two plates move side by side against each other. The epicenter of the Myanmar quake, where the fault rupture started, was north of the location in the video, near the city of Mandalay. This rupture then propagated both north and south, cracking the ground all along the fault line. "The actual segment of the Earth that is slipping side to side goes from the surface down to maybe 20 or 30 kilometers [12 to 19 miles] depth," Aster said. Below that, the crust still moves, but the crust is more malleable and deforms rather than cracks. The shaking first seen in the video comes from the earthquake waves that speed out from the rupturing crack, Vidale said. Then, the rupture itself arrives. RELATED STORIES —The science behind Myanmar's magnitude 7.7 earthquake —Scientists find hidden mechanism that could explain how earthquakes 'ignite' —Huge earthquake 2,500 years ago rerouted the Ganges River, study suggests Seismologists get good measurements of such ruptures from seismic stations that use GPS to quantify even tiny movements of the crust. They also often do fieldwork to find evidence of ruptures after they happen, Aster said. "But we don't really understand the dynamics of what happened, exactly how things move," he said. The video might be useful for researchers who are trying to understand those unusual dynamics. "I have no doubt that seismologists will take a very close look at this," Aster said. "It will probably lead to some kind of a publication at some point, if the location and other details can be sorted out." Live Science reached out to Aung and to GP Energy Myanmar and will update this story with further details, if available.
CBC
17-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Scientists gobsmacked by never-seen footage of earth rupturing during Myanmar quake
When you watch the video below, don't get distracted by the cracking concrete or the metal gate rocking back and forth. Keep your eyes focused on the right side of the screen, where you will see an astonishing sight — one that earthquake scientists say has never been caught on camera before. The video was captured by a surveillance camera on March 28, when a violent earthquake struck the southeast Asian country of Myanmar — causing widespread damage as far away as Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand, and killing some 3,700 people, according to Myanmar's ruling military junta. The footage shows the moment the 7.7 magnitude quake caused the land on one side to thrust forward with a powerful jolt, as a rupture ripped opened the earth for 460 kilometres along the Sagaing Fault. "My jaw hit the floor," said Wendy Bohon, an earthquake geologist and science communication specialist in Sacramento, Calif., when she saw it. WATCH | Video captures land mass shifts, earth ruptures during Myanmar quake: Satellite imagery and other data had already helped scientists determine the extent of the rupture and approximately how much the earth moved. But seeing such a dramatic shift of the landscape in action is a first for scientists like Bohon, and may prove to be an invaluable tool in understanding the type of earthquake that ravaged Myanmar. "We have computer models of it. We have laboratory models of it. But all of those are far less complex than the actual natural system. So to see it actually happening was mind-blowing," she told CBC News. Why the earth shifted so powerfully "I keep going back and watching it," said geologist Judith Hubbard, an assistant professor at Cornell University's department of Earth and atmospheric sciences. "It's really kind of staggering to see a fault slide in real time, especially for someone like me, who has spent years studying these things, but always from more remote kinds of data, like offsets after the fact or data recorded by sensors," she said in an email interview. The Sagaing Fault runs some 1,400 kilometres, between the Indian and Eurasian plates, right through Myanmar and into the Andaman Sea. It's a strike-slip fault, meaning that when an earthquake happens, the land mass on one side of the fault slides past the other. Researchers with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab used satellite and radar data to determine that the earthquake caused a horizontal displacement up to six metres in some locations along the fault. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan made similar observations. Scientists like Hubbard say there is "compelling evidence" it was a supershear earthquake. That's when the speed of the rupture, which is generally slower-moving, travels faster than seismic waves that the earthquake produces, which can travel up to six kilometres per second. The video appeared May 11 on a YouTube channel called 2025 Sagaing Earthquake Archive, which has been curating social media videos and security camera footage since the quake struck. According to a Facebook post linked in the caption, the video was from a camera at a power facility in Tha Phay Wa. That's in the township of Thazi, some 110 kilometres south of the city of Mandalay, and close to the epicentre of the quake and its 6.7 magnitude aftershock. A Google Maps satellite view of the area shows a power facility located in this area and close to the Saigang Fault. Hubbard said that watching the video, it doesn't look like the quake was supershear at this location, because you see the seismic waves hit and the terrain shaking before the rupture occurs. But it's possible it was happening at supershear speed elsewhere along the fault. She said this video offers her and other earthquake scientists "a really striking observation." "We don't tend to have instruments right along the fault. They are often disrupted by shaking," she said. This happened right there in front of their eyes, on video, which means they don't only have to rely on analyzing and interpreting complicated recordings and data to determine what happened on the ground. WATCH | Myanmar earthquake rescue, relief efforts hindered by lack of supplies, civil war: Earthquake in Myanmar, Thailand kills thousands 2 months ago Duration 2:55 Rescue crews in Myanmar and Thailand are scrambling to find survivors under the rubble in the wake of a massive earthquake that killed more than 1,600 people and left countless others buried. Efforts in Myanmar are further challenged by a lack of medical supplies, damaged roads and an ongoing civil war. " How to tell what we're seeing is real Bohon said there's little doubt the video is real and she doesn't believe it's been altered or fabricated in any way. She said there are finer details in the background that you would have to pay close attention to, or that AI tools wouldn't know to generate — such as a bird flying away as the shaking begins about 12 seconds into the video, and power lines straining and eventually causing a transmission tower to buckle a few seconds later. "There's also another kind of more subtle thing," Bohon said. "It's called the geomorphology, the shape of the surface of the earth." Earthquakes, she explained, change the landscape and move hills and rivers. She pointed to the small hill in the background of the CCTV footage, situated along the fault, that thrusts forward. "That hill in the background, that you see move towards the camera," she said. "If you look at it, it's kind of long and linear, and then it just cuts off right about where the fault is." She said that if you can view the location using satellite imagery, you could look to see where the other half of that hill is in relation to the portion that moved forward in the quake. Watching and learning The observations Bohon made to verify what she was seeing in the video also told her a lot about the earthquake itself and that this kind of footage has "tremendous scientific value." She said that despite the violent shaking and and shifting of the earth, it was interesting to see that small structures were relatively unscathed considering the force of the quake. "Watching the destruction in the nearground and watching it in the background, and then even further away, was a really interesting look into how earthquakes impact things right next to the fault and at varying degrees away from the fault itself," she said. As "devastating and horrific" as earthquakes like the one in Myanmar can be, Bohon said they always present a learning opportunity that can hopefully be used to improve safety and protect lives. While this footage is a first, Bohon expects there will be more to come because of the prevalence of CCTV and other types of cameras that are capturing video around the clock and from multiple angles. Rescue crews scour rubble for survivors after Myanmar quake 2 months ago Duration 3:15 Rescue crews in Myanmar and Thailand are working tirelessly to attempt to pull survivors from rubble after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the region on Friday. The death toll has already exceeded 1,600 and authorities expect it to continue to rise.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'We need aid': rescuers in quake-hit Myanmar city plead for help
Exhausted, overwhelmed rescuers in Myanmar's second-biggest city pleaded for help Saturday as they struggled to free hundreds of people trapped in buildings destroyed by a devastating earthquake. Friday's shallow 7.7-magnitude quake destroyed dozens of buildings in Mandalay, the country's cultural capital and home to more than 1.7 million people. In one street, a monastery's clock tower lay collapsed on its side, its hands pointing to 12:55 pm -- just minutes after the time the quake struck. Among the worst-hit buildings in the city is the Sky Villa Condominium development, where more than 90 people are feared to be trapped. The building's 12 storeys were reduced to six by the quake, the cracked pastel green walls of the upper floors perched on the crushed remains of the lower levels. A woman's body stuck out of the wreckage, her arm and hair hanging down. Rescuers clambered over the ruins painstakingly removing pieces of rubble and wreckage by hand as they sought to open up passageways to those trapped inside. Scattered around were the remains of people's lives -- a child's plastic bunny toy, pieces of furniture and a picture of the New York skyline. After hours of painstaking work came a rare moment of joy as rescuers pulled Phyu Lay Khaing out of the remains of the Sky Villa Condominium -- still alive after 30 hours under the rubble. She was carried out on a stretcher to be embraced by her husband Ye Aung and taken to hospital. "In the beginning I didn't think she would be alive," Ye Aung told AFP as he anxiously waited for his wife -- then still buried in the rubble -- to emerge. "I am very happy that I heard good news," said the trader, who has two sons with his wife -- eight-year-old William, and Ethan, five. - 'More help is needed' - Some residents sheltered under the shade of nearby trees, where they had spent the night, a few possessions they had managed to salvage -- blankets, motorbike helmets -- alongside them. Elsewhere, rescuers in flip-flops and minimal protective equipment picked by hand over the remains of buildings, shouting into the rubble in the hope of hearing the answering cry of a survivor. "There are many victims in condo apartments. More than 100 were pulled out last night," one rescue worker who requested anonymity told AFP. As darkness fell on Saturday, AFP journalists saw dozens of people preparing to bed down in the streets for a second night. Widespread power cuts have hampered rescue efforts, with emergency personnel relying on portable generators for power. After more than 24 hours of desperate searching, many are exhausted and desperate for relief. "We have been here since last night. We haven't got any sleep. More help is needed here," the rescue worker told AFP. "We have enough manpower but we don't have enough cars. We are transporting dead bodies using light trucks. About 10-20 bodies in one light truck." Myanmar is accustomed to regular earthquakes, bisected north to south by the active Sagaing Fault, but the violent fury of Friday's quake was exceptional. More than 1,600 deaths and 3,400 injured have been confirmed already and, with the scale of the disaster only beginning to emerge, the toll is likely to rise significantly. "Yesterday, when the earthquake happened, I was in my home. It was quite scary," Mandalay resident Ba Chit, 55, told AFP. "My family members are safe, but other people were affected. I feel so sorry for them. I feel very sad to see this kind of situation." Myanmar's ability to cope with the aftermath of the quake will be hampered by the effects of four years of civil war, which have ravaged the country's healthcare and emergency systems. In an indication of the potential enormity of the crisis, the junta has issued an exceptionally rare call for international aid. Previous military rulers have spurned all foreign assistance even after major natural disasters. "We need aid. We don't have enough of anything," resident Thar Aye, 68, told AFP. "I feel so sad to see this tragic situation. I've never experienced anything like this before." bur-pdw/rsc
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Powerful 7.7-magnitude Earthquake in Asia Leaves Destruction in Thailand—What to Know
On Friday, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, causing a ripple through the nation and into Thailand. Several powerful aftershocks quickly followed. According to the New York Times, as of 9 a.m. Eastern, at least 20 people have been confirmed dead, and dozens more remain buried under high-rise buildings. However, the Associated Press noted that the death and injury toll is likely much higher, noting that very little information has been flowing out of Myanmar, which is currently in the midst of a civil war. In neighboring Thailand, it appears as though Bangkok may be hardest hit, with the AP reporting that a 33-story building at the popular Chatuchak market has collapsed. An official told reporters, including at The Times, that 70 people were still missing and 20 people were trapped in an elevator shaft, though it was unknown if they survived. According to the AP, the region is well-known for experiencing earthquakes. In fact, Bill McGuire, Professor Emeritus of Geophysical & Climate Hazards, University College London, shared on Science Media Center that 'Myanmar is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, so this quake is not a surprise. It looks to have occurred on the major Sagaing Fault, which marks the boundary between two tectonic plates, and which runs north—south close to a number of large population centers." McGuire added that this is "probably the biggest earthquake on the Myanmar mainland in three quarters of a century, and a combination of size and very shallow depth will maximise the chances of damage. It is highly likely that build quality will generally not be high enough to survive this level of shaking, and casualty numbers will almost certainly climb significantly as more becomes known of the scale of the disaster." Still, Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra shared at a press conference that 'Buildings in Bangkok are constructed beyond the (required) standard. Even if the earthquake had been stronger, they would still be able to withstand it. Right now, inspections show that all buildings are safe to return to. The only affected structures are those under construction, which have issues with stability and walls.' Shinawatra added that there continue to be aftershocks, which may continue to "affect people in both northern Thailand and Bangkok.' For its part, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim shared in a statement, "I am deeply concerned by the powerful earthquake that struck central Myanmar and northern Thailand." He added, "Malaysia stands in unwavering solidarity with our neighbours and fellow ASEAN Member States ... Malaysia is ready to extend assistance and support humanitarian efforts as needed. In this time of shared grief and resilience, may recovery be swift, and may the strength of our regional bonds bring hope and healing." If you have travel plans to Thailand, they should not be affected. According to The Independent, Airports of Thailand (AOT) stated on Friday, 'AOT has completed inspections of 6 airports, confirming that the structural integrity of their buildings and aviation infrastructure meets safety standards. All airports have resumed normal operations as of 2:30 p.m.' However, travelers should be cautious of travel through affected areas and know that Bangkok has officially been declared a disaster area, which will most certainly affect any plans. The Bangkok Post also reported that the Ministry of Transport ordered the suspension of public transport services, including many buses and all its electric train lines. The ministry did, however, increase passenger boats, including the Chao Phraya River, to serve commuters. The State Railway is also experiencing delayed trains, pending safety checks on all tracks. No word on if the U.S. will offer assistance. However, The Guardian noted that due to cuts and funding freezes by the Trump administration, the renowned Disaster Assistance Response Teams—teams of highly trained individuals who specialize in rapid response to disasters like this—can "no longer deploy." Those traveling to Thailand in the coming days are urged to stay tuned to official channels, including the Thai government's page on X. This story is ongoing. Updates will be made as information becomes available. Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
