This week's M7.7 earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar (Burma) had all the makings for a devestating disaster; a major earthquake directly under a major population center.
I waited a couple days, but here's a short thread of what happened. #earthquake #myanmar The M7.7 earthquake was very likely caused by the Sagaing Fault, which runs north-south the length of the country's central Irrawaddy River valley. This valley is densely populated and filled with unconsolidated river sediments that can amplify ground shaking.

Let's look at some aerial photos from the aftermath of the New Year's Eve M7.5 earthquake in Japan. The Noto Peninsula is fairly mountainous, so landslides were common. The slides in these photos are interesting because the slopes are NOT that steep. #JapanEarthquake 1/5



There are very high and steep cliffs along the peninsula's northwest coast that had some significant slides. If you look hard enough, you'll see there are dozens of cars stranded BETWEEN landslides on the coast road! #JapanEarthquake 2/5

WHOA! Prelim. M7.8 earthquake in southern Turkey, near the triple junction of the Anatolian, Arabian, & African Plates. #earthquake USGS damage estimates are *bad* for the M7.8 earthquake near the Turkey-Syria border. Estimated deaths in the 100s & damages around $1 billion. So sad. #earthquake