Nearly a quarter million people died during the December 2004 tsunami

Eleven aftershocks of the magnitude between 4.2-4.9 on the Richter scale were felt in Laos, Burma, and Thailand throughout the night of April 16th, following two earthquakes of larger magnitudes that occurred on the night of April 15th and the afternoon of the 16th in the Golden Triangle area between the three neighboring countries, which experts say resulted from the earthquake under the Andaman Sea that created a disastrous tsumani in December 2004.

Experts add that the region faces more earthquake risks as more cracks under the earth crust, caused by the December 2004 earthquake, have been discovered in the Golden Triangle area. They say an earthquake of a 7.0 magnitude in that area would be catastrophic because it could cause serious structural damage to many dams in the region, evantually leading to dam collapses and flooding.

The high earthquake-risk area in Laos are said to be the provinces of Bokeo, Oudomxay, and Luang Namtha.

Listen to our Laos Today for more details.