RANGOON — The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that jolted Rangoon’s Taik Kyi Township on Monday evening claimed two lives, according to new reports.
A Mingaladon Military Hospital staff member told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that a 57-year-old military corporal and his 6-year-old grandson were fatally injured when a wall collapsed at their military quarters in Taik Kyi Township.
The two deceased bodies arrived at the hospital on Tuesday at 2 a.m., the staff member added.
According to regional lawmaker U Lwin Soe Min, there were five people still receiving medical care at a hospital in Taik Kyi at the time of this report. The quake injured at least two dozen people and damaged some religious buildings, he added.
Burma’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported that the epicenter of the quake was about 8 km southwest of Taik Kyi. The US Geological Survey said the epicenter had a depth of 10 km. Residents in Rangoon felt tremors for nearly 30 seconds.
Another 4.7-magnitude quake happened at 10:19 p.m. on Monday evening as an aftershock, the department of meteorology and hydrology reported. Residents also said they felt multiple aftershocks on Tuesday.
The Myanmar Earthquake Committee said quakes of about 5.0-magnitude happen once or twice every year due to a small fault near the Taik Kyi region. The fault lines that threaten the former capital Rangoon most are Sagaing and Daydaye faults, which could cause quakes above 6.0-magnitude every 80-100 years, according to the committee.
Burma’s central areas are prone to seismic activity mainly because of the Sagaing fault—a 1,200 km (750-mile) fault line that transects the country from north to south, passing through major cities before dipping into the Gulf of Martaban.
