Latest on Burma (Myanmar) Earthquake

(NewsyVideos) By Tracy Pfeiffer with anchors Chance Seales. "Asia is on edge after another earthquake hit the southeast Asian country of Myanmar, also known by its former name of Burma. ABC has more." ABC Anchor Juju Chang: "It measured 6.8, shaking across hundreds of miles. So far more than 70 people have died, but the toll is expected to rise. Hundreds of homes, Buddhist monasteries, and government buildings have been damaged." The quake occurred in what's known as the "Golden Triangle," a region where Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand border one another. As a result, shaking and aftershocks were felt in these countries as well as China and Vietnam. An article from the BBC says, even though the Burmese government has released information about the death toll and injuries, it might be some time before the rest of the world gets an accurate picture of the damage. "Burma is ill prepared to deal with natural disasters. ... Communication systems and infrastructure are poor and the military government, still in charge until the handover to a new civilian-led administration, tends to limit the flow of information." And a writer for TIME notes, the current government has a history of questionable crises responses. "During the last natural disaster to hit Burma -- Cyclone Nargis in 2008 -- the government was criticized for placing state security over humanitarian concerns... During the 1980s, a large section of the city of Mandalay was destroyed by fire, but news did not reach the outside world until a Western journalist traveled there nearly five years later." But a writer for Christian Science Monitor focuses on the potential economic impact of the quake and says, financial consequences will be limited. "...[A]side from agriculture and limited tourism, the only other industry of note in the so-called Golden Triangle is opium, and that has been in decline for more than a decade. What remains of the drug industry serves Asia... Illegal though it may be, the industry would feel the same effect as legitimate manufacturers would." A volunteer on the ground tells Sydney Morning Herald, "unhappy information" will likely come out of the rural areas of Myanmar as the recovery progresses.