Sagaing Fault
Myanmar · continental transform · 14502.5 km of mapped active fault in 60 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.44 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 160 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 5.33 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 14502.5 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 60 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Dextral |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | 14.58 to 27.31 latitude, 94.19 to 99.28 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 26 significant earthquakes and one tsunami attributed to this system since 1512.
The deadliest was the 28 March 2025 magnitude 7.7 earthquake (Myanmar (Burma); Thailand), which killed 3,815 people.
The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 8.0, on 23 May 1912 (Myanmar (Burma): Mandalay, Mogok, Maymyo).
Across the entries that record a death toll, 4,627 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 March 2025 | magnitude 7.7 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma); Thailand | 3,815 dead, 12,441 homes destroyed, $10,970 million damage |
| 5 May 1930 | magnitude 7.4 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Pegu, Rangoon | 500 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 5 May 1930 | tsunami (waves to 1.1 m) | Myanmar Coast | 500 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 13 March 1577 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | China: Yunnan: Tengchong | 170 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 11 November 2012 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Shwebo | 38 dead, 251 homes destroyed, $1 million damage |
| 16 July 1956 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma) | 38 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 3 December 1930 | magnitude 7.3 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Pyu | 36 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 10 March 2011 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Pingyuan | 25 dead, 1,039 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 21 August 2008 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | 5 dead, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 23 May 1912 | magnitude 8.0 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Mandalay, Mogok, Maymyo | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 29 May 1976 | magnitude 7.4 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Lungling-lushi | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 12 December 1908 | magnitude 7.2 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Kachin | - |
| 5 January 1991 | magnitude 7.0 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Thabeikkyin, Mandalay | damage under $1 million |
| 21 September 1930 | magnitude 6.7 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 8 October 1512 | magnitude 6.5 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 7 June 2000 | magnitude 6.3 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Liuku; Myanmar | damage under $1 million |
| 30 May 2014 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Yingjiang | 3,390 homes destroyed, $2 million damage |
| 22 April 1983 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | Thailand: Bangkok | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 23 May 2014 | magnitude 5.8 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | $60 million damage |
| 11 June 1961 | magnitude 5.8 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | 5,740 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 19 January 1929 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | Myanmar (Burma): Htawgaw | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 14 September 1514 | magnitude 5.5 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | - |
| 20 June 2011 | magnitude 5.3 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Baoshan | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 9 August 2011 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province: Baoshan | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 19 August 2008 | magnitude 5.0 earthquake | China: Yunnan Province | 5 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 27 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.