Chennai, (thestaes.news)| The Cartosat-3 Satellite launched by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) has captured images showing the damages caused by the devastating
earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28. On Rapid damage assessment, it said post-disaster Cartosat-3 imagery was acquired by ISRO on March 29 over the cities of Mandalay and Sagaing in Myanmar.
Additionally, pre-event Cartosat-3 data acquired on March 18, 2025 covering the same area
was referred for change analysis and assessment of damage, ISRO said in an update on
Monday. Significant damage to infrastructure in Mandalay city was observed, with major landmarks
such as Sky Villa Phayani Pagoda, Mahamuni Pagoda and Ananda Pagoda, University of
Mandalay and several others suffering either complete or partial damage.
In Sagaing city, damage was observed in the Ma Shi Khana Pagoda, along with several
monasteries and other buildings. As seen from the imagery, the earthquake caused the complete collapse of the historic Ava (InnWa) Bridge on the Irrawaddy River, near Inn Wa City. Cracks/ground ruptures in flood plains of Irrawaddy river with associated liquefaction was also observed.
The inference on damage was made by a rapid data analysis mode and has to be ground
verified.
India’s homegrown PSLV-C47 rocket had successfully launched Cartosat-3, a third generation
agile advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability, and 13 other commercial nanosatellites from USA from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota
on November 27, 2019 from the Second Launch Pad. ISRO said an earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck Myanmar on March 28 followed by strong aftershock of magnitude 6.4 measured on the Richter Scale.
The epicenter is located at a depth of 10km near Sagaing-Mandalay border. The epicenter
of the quake was located near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, which experienced
severe damage. The earthquake also rattled the capital Naypyidaw and other regions, resulting in the collapse of infrastructure, roads and residential buildings.
The tremors were felt not only in Myanmar but also in neighbouring countries.
The shockwaves were strong enough to be felt as far as Chiang Mai and northern parts of
Thailand, where residents reported damages. On the Tectonic summary, it said Myanmar is located near the convergent boundary of the Indian and Eurasian plates, where the Indian Plate is moving northward toward the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 5 cm per year.
In addition to that Myanmar also sits near several smaller fault zones, such as the Sagaing
Fault, which runs through central Myanmar. The Sagaing fault is a significant active strike-slip
fault that accommodates lateral motion between the blocks of the Indian and Eurasian plates.
The present earthquake was likely associated with the release of accumulated stress along
the Sagaing fault or its accessory faults in the region, it said. (UNI)
