The earthquake was the strongest in the area for decades.
Earthquakes in Southeast Asia can raise the number of victims to thousands, says the director of the Seismology Institute Suvi Heinonen From the University of Helsinki.
– In most cases, the cause of death in earthquakes is to fall under the collapse buildings, says Heinonen.
The building stock in the area may not withstand the strong movement caused by the waves produced by the earthquake. For example, if a similar earthquake were in the United States, it would not cause problems for people and infrastructure, as the buildings are designed to withstand large quakes.
According to the US Geology Research Center (USGS), the first earthquake took place at approximately 1:30 pm local time and was 7.7. Minutes later, the aftermath was followed by a volume of 6.4.
According to Heinonen, smaller aftermarkets of magnitude can be dangerous as the larger quake has already damaged buildings.
Earthquake exceptionally strong
Earthquakes are familiar to the residents of Myanmar and Thailand, but the earthquakes of this size have not occurred for decades.
Usually, earthquakes in the area are less than 5-5.5. In the magnitude, the next chapter is always more than ten times higher, which means that the differences are huge.
– The earthquake has definitely been exceptionally strong, says Heinonen.