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More details about the Myanmar earthquake are emerging

Quicksand-like physics exacerbated the earthquake’s destruction

A photo of a building in Mandalay, a city in Myanmar, that toppled over during a magnitude 7.7 earthquake March 28.

The powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand on March 28 toppled buildings, such as this one in Mandalay.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

By Carolyn Gramling

As rescue and recovery efforts continue to ramp-up in earthquake-ravaged Myanmar, new details about how the geologic setting amplified the disaster are beginning to emerge.