1912 Maymyo earthquake

1912 Maymyo earthquake
epicenter.
epicenter.
1912 Maymyo earthquake (Myanmar)
UTC time1912-05-23 02:24:04
ISC event16958191
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date23 May, 1912
Local time08:54:04
Duration>60 seconds
Magnitude7.9 Mw[1]
Epicenter22°21′00″N 96°44′13″E / 22.35°N 96.737°E / 22.35; 96.737
FaultKyaukkyan fault
TypeStrike-slip
Areas affectedMyanmar
Total damageWidespread and severe
Max. intensityRFS IX (Devastating tremor)
MMI IX (Violent)[2]
CasualtiesUnknown

The 1912 Maymyo earthquake or Burma earthquake struck Burma on the morning of May 23, with an epicentre near Taunggyi and Pyin Oo Lwin in Shan State. The earthquake was initially calculated at 8.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale (Ms ) by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter, and described by them as being one of the most remarkable seismic events in the early 1900s.[3][4][5] Recent re-evaluation of the earthquake, however, have revised the magnitude to 7.6–7.9. It was preceded by two foreshocks on May 18 and 21 with respective intensities V and VII on the Rossi–Forel scale, while the mainshock was assigned IX. Shaking was felt throughout most of Burma, parts of Siam and Yunnan; an area covering approximately 375,000 square miles.[6] It was one of the largest earthquakes in the country.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference anss was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Beno Gutenberg; Charles Francis Richter (1954). Seismicity of the Earth and Associated Phenomena (2 ed.). Princeton, N.J., USA: Princeton University Press.
  4. ^ ROBERT J. GELLER AND HIROO KANAMORI (1977). "Magnitudes of great shallow earthquakes from 1904 to 1952" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 67 (3): 587–598. Bibcode:1977BuSSA..67..587G. doi:10.1785/BSSA0670030587. S2CID 10872504.
  5. ^ "Event 16958191 Myanmar". www.isc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  6. ^ Brown, J. Coggin (1917). "The Burma Earthquake of May 1912". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. XLII – via SCRIBD.