Powerful Burma quake affects 600,000

A strong earthquake struck north-eastern Burma yesterday, shaking buildings as far away as Bangkok.

The quake struck along Burma's borders with Thailand and Laos, about 70 miles from Chiang Rai. The northern Thai city sustained a little damage, according to Thai television. The 6.8-magnitude quake was just six miles deep, according to the US Geological Survey.

At that strength and depth, the monitor said 600,000 people would have experienced strong to violent shaking, and that buildings would sustain moderate to very heavy damage.