My Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai was gently rocked by a magnitude 3 earthquake, today, at 6.45am, with its epicenter in the centre of the city.

Although the quake only lasted 5 to 10 seconds, the quake was sufficiently significant to cause people to dash out onto the street in alarm; however there were no reports of any damage or casualties.

There are nine active fault lines in Thailand, the one near Chiang Mai being the Mae Tha Fault, about 30 kilometres away from the city. About 55 kilometres long, this fault has generated 23 quakes during the past 28 years, the most severe having been a quake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale in December 1995.