The catastrophic 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday had as much energy as more than 300 atomic bombs combined, as per a leading American geologist.
“The force that a quake like this releases is about 334 atomic bombs,” geologist Jess Phoenix told CNN. She also warned that the aftershocks from the earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 1,600 could “persist for months” as the Indian tectonic plate continues to collide with the Eurasian plate beneath Myanmar.
The geologist also said that there could be hindrances in estimating the full extent of the catastrophe owing to the ongoing civil war and communication blackout.
Another video showing the violent shaking during yesterdays M7.7 earthquake 👀
📍 Sagaing, Myanmarpic.twitter.com/OeWGppAGge
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) March 29, 2025
A military junta overthrew the civilian government in the neighbouring country in February 2021. The junta’s top leader Min Aung Hlaing has urged assistance from “any country.”
India stepped forward launching a multi-agency relief mission ‘Operation Brahma’ under which it delivered 15 tonnes of essential goods to Myanmar. More aid was dispatched by air and sea, along with rescue teams.
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‘Great Knife Cutting Earth’
Another seismologist explained the quake was like a “great knife cut into the Earth.” The earthquake was caused by a rupture that lasted for a “full minute” causing sideways movements on the ground, James Jackson from the University of Cambrige in England told the CNN.
“Think of a piece of paper tearing, and it tears at about two kilometres per second,” he said.
However, the phenomenon was “not an unexpected event,” said Shengji Wei, principal investigator at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.
The Friday quake occured along a segment of the Sagaing Fault, a major geological fault line that has historically seen big earthquakes, said Wei.
