--- title: "Extremely Rare Video Shows the Earth Being Violently Torn Apart During an Earthquake" description: "A video captured during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake may be a first-of-its-kind recording of a surface-level fault rupture." date: "2025-05-14" modified: "2025-05-14" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-earth-torn-apart-earthquake" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "earthquake" - "natural disasters" - "the digest" - "Video" --- # Extremely Rare Video Shows the Earth Being Violently Torn Apart During an Earthquake ![A video captured during the 2025 Myanmar earthquake may be a first-of-its-kind recording of a surface-level fault rupture.]() *\Image: kausthab87 via Reddit\* ## First of Its Kind A striking video captured in Myanmar during March's devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake shows what scientists believe may be a first-of-its-kind recording of a surface fault rupture, the visible point where the ground over a major faultline splits apart, in action. The video, which [went viral on Reddit]() earlier this week, shows the moment as the Earth begins to quake. A gate flies open as cracks emerge in the cement of what appears to be a driveway; a massive fissure appears in the ground beyond the gate, and the right half of the visible landscape slides backwards. Dust rises as the ground continues to move and stretch in the distance. According [to *Live Science*,]() the recording was captured at the Green Power Energy Solar Project in Tha Pyay Wa, Mandalay, a solar energy power plant. "To my knowledge," Rick Aster, a geophysicist at Colorado State University, told *Live Science*, "this is the best video we have of a throughgoing surface rupture of a very large earthquake." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77ubC4bcgRM ## Strike-Slip Myanmar sits over the [Sagaing Fault](), a major Asian fault line. The Sagaing Fault is a strike-slip fault, meaning that the tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface move horizontally against one another. "The actual segment of the Earth that is slipping side to side goes from the surface down to maybe \[12 to 19 miles\] depth," Aster told *Live Science.* "I have no doubt that seismologists will take a very close look at this," he added. "It will probably lead to some kind of a publication at some point, if the location and other details can be sorted out." Official death counts vary, but [recent United Nations (UN) estimates]() say that the high-magnitude earthquake claimed over 3,800 lives and left thousands of others injured in its wake. Thousands of homes, businesses, and other structures were destroyed, including historic and culturally significant religious sites, [according to *The New York Times.*]() The situation is still dire. Myanmar is [ruled by a military junta]() and was already in the midst of a brutal civil war and large-scale humanitarian crisis when the earthquake hit. And now, with the region's monsoon season quickly approaching, the UN [is warning]() that families and towns will face the threat of landslides and floods. **More on natural disasters:** [*NOAA Will Stop Tracking Weather Disasters Because Trump Doesn't Believe in Climate Change*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()