A strong earthquake shook the Dominican Republic on Monday, rattling houses and sending waves of tremors that could be felt in western Puerto Rico. Another strong earthquake early on Monday rocked central Myanmar, damaging temples and a bridge, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, officials said.
The Dominican Republic earthquake registered a magnitude of 6,5 and its epicentre was located about 10km south of Puerto Plata, a resort town on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast, said Christa von Hillebrandt, director of the Puerto Rico Seismic Network.
”It was a strong earthquake but we’ve only gotten reports of things falling off shelves — no injuries,” Von Hillebrandt said.
”This is the type of shallow quake, however, where there will likely be aftershocks felt.”
In Myanmar, the magnitude 6,7 quake struck about 350km north of the capital Yangon about 12.46am (6.16am GMT), said Tun Lwin, deputy director of the Yangon Kaba Aye Meteorological Centre.
He said no injuries had been reported.
”It is still too early to give the human casualties,” another government official said on condition of anonymity, without elaborating.
Three ancient temples and a bridge in the town of Taungdwindyi, about 450km north of Yangon, were damaged, the official said. No further details were given.
The trembler was felt as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, about 850km away from the quake’s centre. Tremors shook some tall buildings in the Thai capital, and were felt in the northern Thai provinces of Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son.
A receptionist at the Chiang Mai Plaza hotel said dozens of guests rushed out of their rooms when the quake started. Chiang Mai is about 580km north of Bangkok. — Sapa-AP