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Shake intensity Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Eastern European time. The New York Times More
Shake intensity Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Eastern. The New York Times More
The quake on Saturday morning had a preliminary magnitude of 4.1, with an epicenter about 30 miles southwest of Knoxville, Tenn. Residents in Atlanta reported feeling it.Residents in Tennessee and Georgia were jolted on Saturday morning by an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The earthquake had its epicenter just outside of Greenback, Tenn., a town of about 1,000 people, but was felt as far away as Atlanta.Shortly after the quake, people in the region logged reports with the U.S. Geological Survey about where they felt it. Reports of shaking came from as far away as Nashville and Charlotte, N.C.There were only a few instances of light damage reported around the epicenter, and no reports of moderate or heavy damage, according to those who self-reported to the Geological Survey.The area, known as the Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, extends across Tennessee into northwestern Georgia and northeastern Alabama. Minor earthquakes occur annually, but the zone is not known to have major tremors.As seismologists review available data, they may revise the reported magnitude of Saturday’s earthquake.The last time a strong earthquake was felt in the region was 2018, when a 4.4 magnitude tremor rattled houses but caused little damage.The earthquake was still novel enough to generate aftershocks on social media.People from Asheville, N.C., to Gatlinburg, Tenn., outside of Knoxville, reported feeling the earth shaking as they enjoyed their morning coffee.One user poked fun at the earthquake’s lack of impact, sharing an image of patio furniture with a single chair knocked over, captioned: “I survived the 2025 Knoxville earthquake. We will rebuild.”Another shared a photo of their cat sheltering in a cardboard box with the caption, “Did not handle the East Tennessee earthquake of 2025 well at all.”Jonathan Wolfe More
Shake intensity Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Eastern. The New York Times More
A video from the San Diego Zoo taken during an earthquake put complex elephant herd dynamics on display.A tremor from a 5.2-magnitude earthquake that struck about 60 miles away prompted a herd of elephants at the San Diego Zoo to form a tight circle to protect the calves.San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, via Associated PressThe 5.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Southern California on Monday may have provoked a collective shrug from humans in the region, but a few elephants in San Diego took the tremor very seriously.A video taken at the San Diego Zoo shows the action unfold: Five African elephants are basking in the morning sun until the camera begins to shake and a tremor sends the animals scrambling toward one another.A few moments later, almost in unison, the elephants form a tight circle, with the older elephants surrounding the younger calves. The herd remains in formation through the end of the video, facing outward with ears extended, as if on high alert for threats.The earthquake, which struck around 10 a.m. on Monday, had its epicenter near Julian, Calif., about 60 miles northeast of San Diego. There were no reports of injuries or damage, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.The response from the elephants was a defensive position known as “bunching,” and is a typical reaction to threats, said Joyce Poole, a conservation biologist with a doctorate in elephant behavior from Cambridge University. “They feel more secure when they are close together,” she said.When bunched, elephants often have their tusks pointed out, ears extended, eyes opened wide and trunks out, trying to smell potential threats. The formation, “like the spokes of a wheel,” Dr. Poole said, gives the group a 360-degree view of their surroundings to pinpoint any danger. The younger members instinctively seek out the most protected position inside the circle, she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
Critics say the country’s often-incompetent military government has delayed and restricted the arrival and distribution of crucial aid.Seven days after an earthquake devastated Turkey in 2023, French volunteers used a suitcase-size radar to locate a survivor under the rubble. It was one of many lives the device helped save in the aftermath of the disaster.The group also rushed volunteers to Myanmar after a powerful earthquake last month leveled buildings, bridge and centuries-old temples. But the volunteers were stuck at immigration control at the airport in Yangon for more than a day. They finally entered the country last Wednesday, only to have the authorities declare search and rescue operations ending the next day. The volunteers returned home without finding a single survivor.Myanmar’s military government surprised many observers when it called for international assistance in response to the March 28 earthquake. It also declared a cease-fire against rebels in a civil war that has consumed the nation.But less than two weeks after the calamity hit, aid groups and volunteers said, international relief is not reaching Myanmar’s beleaguered public as fast as it could. They blame the junta for delays and restrictions on distributing aid. Others cite a climate of fear — the military has resumed airstrikes on rebel areas despite the cease-fire and on at least one occasion fired on aid workers.“Nothing was reasonable on the ground,” said Sezer Ozgan, a volunteer with the French nonprofit L’Espoir du peuple A.R.S.I.Already ravaged by war, Myanmar continues to reel from the earthquake, which people have been calling “earth’s anger.” The official death toll has surpassed 3,500 and many more have been injured. But the full extent of the devastation remains hard to assess because of damaged roads and toppled phone towers.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 4 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “light,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times More
In Mandalay, near the epicenter of the quake that rocked the region, volunteer rescue workers raced against time as they combed through the ruins of apartments, monasteries and mosques to find survivors. Others struggled to come to terms with all they had lost.Downed power lines, destroyed roads and a lack of equipment made rescue work even harder in a city already enduring a repressive military government and a civil war that is now in its fourth year.“There are at least a hundred people still trapped inside,” said Thaw Zin, a volunteer who was sitting in front of a destroyed condominium. “We are trying our best with what we have.”The earthquake, which struck at about 12:50 p.m. Friday local time, was only the third of such magnitude to hit the region in the past century. The extent of the catastrophe remains enormous: the Myanmar military junta declared a state of emergency in six regions. These include rebel-controlled areas where there is little internet and millions of displaced people.The earthquake caused the collapse of Mandalay’s Maha Myat Muni Pagoda, also known as the Mahamuni Buddha Temple.EPA, via ShutterstockSu Wai Lin managed to escape with her husband and mother-in-law when the earthquake struck, but her husband ran back into their apartment building in Mandalay to save their 90-year-old neighbor.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More
The powerful earthquake that shook Myanmar on Friday took a considerable toll on historic and religious sites across the country, toppling pagodas, collapsing sections of Buddhist monasteries and reducing centuries-old monuments to rubble, according to photographs and videos shared by witnesses and verified by The New York Times.In its latest count on Saturday morning, Myanmar’s government said that over 3,000 buildings had been damaged, including about 150 mosques and pagodas.Southwest of Mandalay, the 200-year-old Me Nu Brick Monastery appeared to be largely destroyed. Tiers of the building’s distinctive balconies had collapsed around the bulky interior walls.Southeast of Mandalay, a video showed the ornate golden spire of the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda toppling over, to the screams of onlookers.Verified video, via ReutersIn Mandalay city, a large pagoda that stood on the palace walls was left tilted at a sharp angle; elsewhere, a section of the walls crumbled.To the west of the city, a video showed Buddhist monks gathered around the ruins of a decorative clock tower that had served as a centerpiece of the New Masoeyein Monastery.@Ashin Tikkhanyarna Linkara/Facebook, via AFPSeconds later, video showed their five-story monastery building collapsing before them. Dozens of monks who lived at the monastery slept out on mats in nearby streets on Friday night. One of them, Moe Nat Ashin, photographed the scene.@Bar Ku/Facebook, via AFPPhotos shared by the Burma Human Rights Network showed fallen minarets and domes of mosques in several parts of the country. The online news outlet Mizzima, citing local officials and residents, reported that 490 people were killed in mosque collapses on Friday.In Pindaya, 70 miles from the epicenter, Buddhist monuments known as stupas that adorned a large monastery were toppled, and cracks split the foundations of others that survived.All around the stupas, the remains of golden spires and the red bricks common to the region littered the ground.In one witness video, onlookers wailed as the top of the monastery’s largest stupas crumbled in an aftershock.Ko Ye Win Naing, via TikTok“Pindaya felt some earthquakes before but not so strong like today’s,” said Tun Tun Aye, the administrator of a Facebook page for the monastery. He said that the stupas were believed to be more than a century old, and that he did not know how the monastery would be restored.In Nepal in 2015, billions of dollars were pledged toward reconstruction after two earthquakes devastated the country. Initially hampered by bureaucracy, the restoration led to a resurgence in traditional craftsmanship in the country.But in Myanmar, which is ruled by a military junta that has terrorized civilian areas as it battles a rebel movement, establishing a unified and internationally supported reconstruction effort is likely to be more challenging. More
