Several quakes rattle Myanmar’s largest city, no damage seen

Flag of Myanmar (Pixabay photo)

YANGON, Myanmar — Several earthquakes caused some panic in Myanmar’s largest city early Friday, but no serious injuries or major damage has yet been reported.

Residents said their six-story building shook three times, with the strongest quake lasting at least a minute.

“We were sleeping, but as the building was shaking pretty strong, we all woke up in a panic,” Yangon resident Swe Swe Myint said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first quake just before 1 a.

m. was magnitude-6.0 and had a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles).

The epicenter was about 27 kilometres (17 miles) southwest of Phyu township, about 172 kilometres (107 miles) north of Yangon.

Three quakes of magnitude-5.3 and magnitude-5.2 followed within 20 minutes.

Myanmar Earthquake Committee said the epicenters were close to at least two dams.

But after daylight broke, no major damage or casualties had yet been reported.