According to the Center for Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning (Institute of Earth Sciences) at 10:21:53 (May 23), a 3.5-magnitude earthquake occurred in Muong Cha district, Dien Bien province.
The coordinates of the earthquake were 21,743 degrees North latitude, 103,146 degrees East longitude; the focal depth of the impact was about 10km. Natural disaster risk level 0.
The earthquake and Tsunami warning center is continuing to monitor the earthquake.
Previously (May 16), also in Muong Cha district, a earthquake of 5.0 occurred; the focal depth of the impact was about 10km. The Institute of Geophysics assesses the risk of natural disasters caused by earthquakes as level 2. A 4.0-degree richter were also recorded near the center of the earthquake on the same day.
According to Vietnam's classification, earthquakes of equal to or larger than average size of 5 can cause moderate to severe damage to poorly designed construction works.
In the past 100 years, the two biggest earthquakes in Vietnam have occurred in Dien Bien. In 2015, a strong earthquake of 6.9 on the Richter scale, the center of which was located in the south of Dien Bien basin, and in 1983, a strong earthquake of 6.7 on the Richter scale, the center of which was in Tuan Giao district.
Fortunately, both of the above earthquakes did not cause much damage because at that time there were not many modern construction works, mainly hills.
