Earthquake of magnitude 4.4 strikes Myanmar

Naypyidaw: An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 struck Myanmar on Thursday, a statement by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 100km.

In a post on X, the NCS said, "EQ of M: 4.4, On: 18/12/2025 06:04:36 IST, Lat: 26.07 N, Long: 97.00 E, Depth: 100 Km, Location: Myanmar."

On December 13, another earthquake of magnitude 3.9 struck the region at a depth of 115km.

Also on December 11, an earthquake of magnitude 3.8 occurred in Myanmar, according to the NCS.

It followed a jolt on December 10, when an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 struck the region at a depth of 138km.

Myanmar is vulnerable to hazards from moderate and large magnitude earthquakes and tsunamis along its long coastline.

Myanmar is wedged between four tectonic plates (the Indian, Eurasian, Sunda, and Burma plates) that interact in active geological processes.

In the aftermath of the magnitude 7.7 and 6.4 earthquakes that struck central Myanmar on March 28, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of a series of rapidly rising health threats for tens of thousands of displaced people in earthquake-affected areas: tuberculosis (TB), HIV, vector- and water-borne diseases.

A 1,400-kilometre transform fault runs through Myanmar and connects the Andaman spreading centre to a collision zone in the north called the Sagaing Fault.

The Sagaing Fault increases the seismic hazard for Sagaing, Mandalay, Bago, and Yangon, which together represent 46 per cent of Myanmar's population.

Although Yangon is relatively far from the fault trace, it still suffers from significant risk due to its dense population.

For instance, in 1903, an intense earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 that occurred in Bago also struck Yangon.