Strong, shallow earthquake shakes northern Myanmar

CHIANG MAI: A strong, shallow earthquake shook northern

Myanmar

on Thursday and was felt as far away as northern

Thailand

.

The

US Geological

survey said the magnitude 5.5 quake occurred in north of

Mandalay

about 46 kilometers (28 miles) northeast of

Shwebo

. It was centered 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the

Earth

's surface, the

USGS

said.

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage to structures on the surface. The USGS said the shaking of the ground was "very strong" and some injuries were possible, but there was a low likelihood of damage.

Buildings in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand swayed for about half a minute.

A seismic fault line runs through northern Myanmar, causing occasional earthquakes. In May, a strong, shallow earthquake shook southwestern China near the border with Myanmar, killing at least three people and injuring more than two dozen.