At least 1,600 people killed with at least 139 missing as UN says rescue operations are severely hindered by blocked roads and lack of medical supplies
Nicola Davis is the Guardian’s science correspondent
Earthquakes arise when huge slabs of rock that make up the Earth’s crust, known as tectonic plates, move against each other. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Myanmar quake occurred as the result of “strike slip faulting” between the India and Eurasia plates – meaning that these two tectonic plates rubbed sideways against each other.
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