First-Ever Footage Shows Unbelievable Ground Shift from 7.9 Earthquake in Myanmar
Newly surfaced security camera video has provided the first-ever view of the Earth’s surface shifting along a major fault line during a powerful earthquake.
The footage, recorded on March 28, 2025, captures the moment the ground visibly cracks and moves along Myanmar’s Sagaing Fault during a 7.9 magnitude earthquake.
Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this 😱
This CCTV footage captures the powerful M7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar in March. You can clearly see the dramatic shift in the ground.
Absolutely surreal. pic.twitter.com/SXdvd4yB3c
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) May 11, 2025
The video shows a sudden, horizontal movement of the ground — evidence of what geologists call a strike-slip fault, according to Meteored. In this case, the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through Myanmar for approximately 750 miles (1,200 kilometers), ruptured near the surface.
The video, which shows a security gate, begins to shake sending the gate left and then right. But then the unthinkable happens and the entire property lurches forward as if sailing on the sea passing stationary land next to it.
The footage is thought to have been filmed by a camera at the Green Power Energy Solar Project in Tha Pyay Wa, Mandalay.
What is a Strike-Slip Fault?
A strike-slip fault is a type of fault where two tectonic plates move horizontally past each other, rather than up or down. The motion is side-to-side, along the line of the fault, and there’s usually little or no vertical movement. A famous example of a strike-slip fault is the San Andreas Fault in California.
Meteored reports that unlike satellite imagery or post-event documentation, this video captures the precise moment the fault slipped. In the recording, seismic waves cause the ground to oscillate, followed by a sharp lateral movement between two blocks of land. Such documentation is highly unusual. Footage from near an epicenter is difficult to obtain because of the dangers and destruction typically associated with strong earthquakes.
Satellite images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 program later confirmed a surface rupture extending over 300 miles (500 kilometers). In some areas, ground displacement reached up to 20 feet (6 meters), damaging roads, railway lines, and infrastructure.
The March 2025 earthquake in Myanmar had a severe human toll. More than 5,000 people were killed, and another 5,000 injured, primarily in and around Mandalay. Emergency response efforts were hindered by Myanmar’s ongoing political instability, which limited humanitarian access and strained available medical services.
