Post date: Mar 25, 2011 12:55:0 AM
A large earthquake hits northern Thailand, killing at least one person and causing a trail of destruction.
MAE SAI, THAILAND (MARCH 24, 2011) TPBS - A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck northern Thailand on Thursday (March 24), leaving at least one person dead and causing panic in nearby cities.
Apartment blocks and offices were evacuated and people fled their homes as the quake shook buildings in three big cities across the region.
Police in Mae Sai in Thailand's northernmost province of Chiang Rai said a woman had been killed when a wall of her house collapsed. Hospital officials said there were no other deaths or injuries reported in the province.Thailand's TPBS television said electricity had been cut off in parts of Mae Sai and showed footage of tiles smashed on the ground and wooden signs that had fallen onto roads.
The quake was centered 111 km (69 miles) north of the town of Chiang Rai, a sparsely populated, hilly area that forms part of the "Golden Triangle," known for growth of illicit opium, and where Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.
The earthquake was shallow at a depth of 6.2 miles.
Witnesses in northeast Myanmar and northern Thailand said they felt the earthquake strongly and tremors caused widespread panic.
Ten aftershocks further jolted the area.
Earthquakes of magnitudes of around 5 and as high as 7 have hit northern Myanmar and Thailand several times in the past 15 years, but damage and casualties have been limited and the areas are thinly populated.