March mega-quake

Bangkok was rattled on March 28 when tremors from a powerful earthquake in central Myanmar jolted high-rise towers across the capital, leaving residents stunned by one of the most intense shaking episodes ever recorded in the city.

- 

The 7.7-magnitude strike-slip quake struck Myanmar's Sagaing Region near Mandalay, more than 1,000 kilometres from Bangkok.

Yet its supershear rupture, which caused seismic waves to travel faster than the speed of sound through the fault, combined with the capital’s deep layer of soft clay soil, to significantly amplify ground motion.

Although most structures withstood the shaking, a major tragedy occurred at a 30-storey building under construction for the State Audit Office (SAO) in Chatuchak district.