'Extraordinary' video showing Earth violently splitting apart after earthquake leaves scientists in shock
An ‘extraordinary’ video that shows the Earth violently splitting apart after an earthquake has left scientists in total shock.
The incredible footage captures the moment the devastating earthquake hit in Myanmar earlier this year.
With a shocking magnitude of 7.7, the quake caused over 3,800 deaths and over 5,000 people to be injured, according to the military-led State Administration Council.
Thousands of homes, businesses, and other structures were also destroyed in the natural disaster, which included historic and culturally significant religious sites.
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Now, the impact can be seen for yourself in a rare video that caught the split of the faultline as the earthquake erupted.
The footage has since been making the rounds on social media after going viral on Reddit.
The video shows what appears to be a driveway. As the earthquake begins, the gate at the end of the drive flies open and cracks appear in the cement.
In the background, the landscape visibly slides, showing the crack of the faultline in real time.
Reacting to the clip, one user wrote: “That much land moved like that….the energy needed for that is mind boggling….”
Another said: “Watch the edges and corners. On the upper left a water tank falls off and in the upper right a power line tower collapsed. The lower right shows the shift best.”
And a third person added: “I had no idea the slip was that sudden. Just *snap* and the street's over here now.”
Speaking to Live Science, Rick Aster, who is a geophysicist at Colorado State University, said: “To my knowledge this is the best video we have of a through going surface rupture of a very large earthquake.
“The actual segment of the Earth that is slipping side to side goes from the surface down to maybe [12 to 19 miles] depth.”
He added: “I have no doubt that seismologists will take a very close look at this. It will probably lead to some kind of a publication at some point, if the location and other details can be sorted out.”
In the video description, it read: “On March 28th, 2025, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Myanmar, causing a rupture in about 460 kilometers (290 miles) of the Sagaing fault line that runs through most of the country, causing shaking of at least intensity X on the Modified Mercalli scale.
“As heavy shaking was felt throughout much of Myanmar as well as other neighboring countries, the fault line moved side-to-side by as much as 6 meters (20 feet) in some places, a movement which was captured by the camera in this video.”
The country is still recovering from the catastrophic effects of the earthquake and with many people still displaced, humanitarian needs remain critical.