A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Myanmar late Saturday afternoon (February 3rd, 2018) with the earthquake itself and after shocks being felt as far away as Chiang Rai, Thailand.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake was approximately 41 kilometers away from the border town of Tachileik, Myanmar
The Thai Meterological Department reported a quake of 2.1 on the Richter magnitude scale hit Wiang Chai district around the same time, followed by aftershocks that were also felt in Muang, Mae Lao, Mae Chan, Mae Sai, Wiang Chiang Rung, Phan and Chiang Saen areas of Thailand.
At 10.29pm, a second quake of 5.1 hit Myanmar. The quake was also felt in Mae Sai.
As Myanmar continued to have earthquakes and aftershocks throughout the day and on into Sunday, another quake hit in the same area several hours later at 1.14am on Sunday morning. This one measured 4.0 on the Richter scale. Again, it was felt in Mae Sai.
And at 3.42pm on Sunday afternoon, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in southern Myanmar, which was again felt in areas of northern Thailand.
As aftershocks continue to be felt in Myanmar, the Burmese are now bracing for more and possibly larger earthquakes. Particularly as the country has had more than half of the earthquakes it had in all of 2017 in just January, 2018 alone.
In fact, 14 earthquakes hit various areas of the country in just the first 15 days of the year.
As for Thailand, the country does have many earthquakes during a typical year, but most are very small and do not tend to cause any damage.
Thailand does have 15 active faultlines, however, with the 15th being discovered in Nakhon Nayok only five years ago. You can find out more about each faultline on the Thai Department of Mineral Resources website.
