Earth Observatory of Singapore

The highly active Sumatran Subduction Zone has produced more than four great earthquakes in the last decade. The first of these was the giant Mw 9.2 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake that ruptured on 26 December 2004. This devastating event was followed by three others – the Mw 8.6 Nias-Simeulue quake in 2005, the Mw 8.4 Bengkulu earthquakes in 2007, and the Mw 7.7 Mentawai tsunami-earthquake in 2010.

One major issue addressed here is to know whether the recent great earthquakes on the MFT ruptured the surface or not. EOS confirmed with 14C dating that the rupture of the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake (Mw 8.2) reached the surface. It is a major breakthrough as the hitherto entrenched consensus had been that the 20th century catastrophic events along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust were blind. 

Results from the MEGA-TERA expedition point to a new fault system that may be a sign of the Indian and Australian plates breaking up.

Scientists have long known that Myammar is tectonically vulnerable. But only recently, says Dr Paramesh Banerjee, have they been able to understand the full extent of the country’s seismic activity. This new insight is made possible by the new Myanmar Seismic Network, established earlier this year.