YANGON, Myanmar — A strong earthquake that toppled homes in northeastern Myanmar has killed more than 70 people, and there were fears Friday the toll would mount as conditions in more remote areas became known.

The Thursday night quake, measured at a magnitude 6.8 by the U.S. Geological Survey, was centered just north of the town Tachileik in the mountains along the Thai border. It was felt hundreds of miles (kilometers) away in the Thai capital Bangkok and Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Myanmar state radio announced Friday that 74 people had been killed and 111 injured in the quake, but was updating the total frequently. It said that 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries and nine government buildings were damaged.

An official from the U.N.'s World Food Program said there were many casualties and serious damage in Mong Lin village, five miles (eight kilometers) from Tachileik. State radio said 29 were killed there and 16 injured.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that 15 houses collapsed in the town of Tarlay, where state radio said 11 were killed and 29 injured. Another U.N. official said a small hospital there was partially damaged as well as a bridge, making it difficult to access the town.

The newspaper said another two people were killed in Tachileik, including a 4-year-old boy. It said six people were injured in the town, which is just across the border from Mae Sai in Thailand's Chiang Rai province.

In Mae Sai, one woman was killed when a wall fell on her, according to Thai police, but damage was otherwise minimal.

The second U.N. official said medicine would be sent to the affected areas as soon as possible along with an assessment team in cooperation with the Myanmar Red Cross Society.

Both U.N. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Myanmar's government frowns on giving unauthorized information to the media.

I expect a strong earthquake to strike the earth to night. There could be huge loss of life

Earthquake hits southern Spain, ten dead
At least ten people were reported dead and dozens injured after an earthquake shook southeastern Spain on Wednesday, toppling historic buildings in the medieval town of Lorca.
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By Fiona Govan and Barney Henderson 7:24PM BST 11 May 2011

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The 5.3 magnitude earthquake was felt across the Murcia region, where hundreds of British expatriate live, from Alicante to Malaga and as far away as Madrid.

The epicentre was registered in the Tercia mountain range close to the town of Lorca, where several buildings were destroyed including a medieval church bell tower.

Authorities confirmed that at least ten people had died, including a child of 13 years old.

Francisco Jodar, the mayor of the town said: "Unfortunately people have died as a result of cave-ins and falling debris. We're trying to find out if people have been trapped inside the collapsed houses."

Television images showed streets in the historic quarter of the town strewn with rubble and crushed cars. There were also reports that historical heritage sites as the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Huerta and several local temples had been damaged.

The local hospital was evacuated raising fears over how those injured would be treated and military units were dispatched to the earthquake zone to help in the rescue.

An earlier quake registering 4.4 on the Richter scale occurred at 5.05pm local time, and the second bigger shock of 5.3 followed at 6.47pm.

Residents in the town, which has a population of around 90,000, described the terrifying moments when the quake struck.

"There was a tremendous roar and the church was split in half," Catalina Lopez, told Spanish state television.

One neighbour said that most people had already left their houses before the second bigger quake struck.

"I felt a movement of such force, and with such noise, that made all the furniture jump about. It was terrifying," said Juani Avellaneda.

"Everyone ran into the street and then when we were thinking it was safe to return to our houses, the shaking started again," he said.

Lorca dates back to the Bronze Age and is thought to have gained its name from the Romans. The old part of the town is made up of a network of narrow alleyways.

Spain is at moderate risk of earthquakes. On average every 200 years an earthquake of over six on the Richter scale occurs. In 2007 an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck the region in Cabo Sao Vicente on Portugal's southern coast, with no reports of damage or casualties.

The biggest earthquake to hit Europe in recent years occurred in April 2009 when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit L'Aquila in central Italy killing over 300 people.

One in five residents of Rome did not go into work and many children were kept off school on Wednesday following the 1915 prediction of Raffaele Bendani, a seismologist, that "the big one" would strike on May 11, 2011.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8508047/Earthquake-hits-southern-Spain-ten-dead.html

Many people flee Rome amid earthquake fears

English.news.cn   2011-05-12 01:59:31

ROME, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Many Italians fled Rome on Wednesday amid fears of a pending earthquake despite reassurances from seismologists and political leaders, according to ANSA news agency.

In 1915 the late Italian self-styled seismologist Raffaele Bendandi predicted that the "the big one" would strike Rome on May 11, 2011. Panic developed recently as rumors spread across social media including Facebook, Twitter.

"Rome is not at risk of any earthquake," Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology, has said. "There have never been any strong earthquakes confirmed under the city," he said.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno has also dismissed the rumours saying that Romans would not be listen to speculation that had no foundation. "I believe Romans are too serious to be duped by this kind of rubbish," he said.

Businesses report shows that one in five people had requested a day off work and some parents kept their children home from school and headed out of town for the day.

Many shops in Rome's downtown area were closed late Tuesday and Wednesday as shopkeepers left notices saying they shut their doors due to "illness" or "stocktaking."

The consumer organization Codacons lodged a complaint with Rome prosecutors about the impact of the alarm while the city council invited citizens to contact the town hall hotline for reassurance.

Bendandi is also said to have predicted other earthquakes that hit Italy during the last hundred years before his death in 1979.

"There are some who are afraid to leave their homes or take the metro are asking what they should do," said seismologist Concetta Nostro. "Many would like a denial, but we cannot do that -- it would be as if we were making a prediction."

Many Romans still remember the April 6, 2009, earthquake that killed 308 people and caused widespread devastation in the city of L'Aquila, 100 km from Rome.

In history, there have never been earthquakes in Rome. But the Irpinia earthquake that hit southern Italy in November 1980 was felt in Rome. The quake centered on the village of Conza, measuring 6.89 on the Richter Scale, killed 2,914 people and left 300,000 homeless.

So far, Italy's worst earthquake struck the Sicilan city of Messina in 1908, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and killed 70,000 people.


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-05/12/c_13870276.htm