
Myanmar-Thailand earthquake: Are quakes becoming too frequent?
Myanmar and Thailand on Friday has claimed more than a thousand lives so far. Myanmar’s Junta said on Saturday that at least 1,002 people had been killed and 2,376 others injured. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise. In Thailand, at least eight people died in the capital, where a high-rise building under construction collapsed.
The devastation caused by the Myanmar-Thailand earthquake, shown in dozens of shocking videos and photos circulating on social media, has caused concerns in India too. India has recorded 159 earthquakes of varying magnitudes from November 2024 to February 2025, with the latest being a magnitude 4.0 in Delhi on February 17, as per a PIB press release. Many people have observed that earthquakes have been occurring more frequently in recent years.
While it may seem like earthquakes are becoming more frequent, actual frequency of earthquakes may not have substantially increased. The feeling that earthquakes are becoming common could be due to more earthquakes being recorded and a heightened awareness of natural disasters due to social media. However, human activities like mining, dam building, and groundwater extraction can trigger earthquakes, leading to an increase in the number of human-induced earthquakes.
The frequency of earthquakes isn't a cause for concern
As per the US Geological Survey (USGS), a temporary increase or decrease in seismicity is part of the normal fluctuation of earthquake rates. Neither an increase nor decrease worldwide is a positive indication that a large earthquake is imminent. The USGS website says ComCat earthquake catalog contains an increasing number of earthquakes in recent years — not because there are more earthquakes, but because there are more
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