Coseismic Displacement Characteristics near the Epicenter of the Mw 7.7 Myanmar Earthquake on 28 March 2025: Insights from Beijing-3 High-Resolution Satellite Imagery Analysis

Abstract On 28 March 2025, an Mw 7.7 earthquake struck the Sagaing fault (SF) in Myanmar, causing severe casualties and infrastructure damage. Surface ruptures induced by this seismic event are crucial for analyzing the source rupture process and assessing seismic hazards. In this study, we focused on interpreting coseismic displacement distribution and deformation characteristics near Mandalay using high-resolution submeter satellite imagery (Beijing-3). The results reveal that coseismic deformation near the epicenter is clearly divided into tectonic (directional, concentrated, and narrow) and nontectonic (nondirectional, diffuse, and wide) types, both requiring consideration in seismic fortification. This seismic event exhibits typical right-lateral strike-slip motion, with the range of right-lateral displacement values spanning 0.4–5.3 m, an average coseismic displacement of 2.3 m within 35 km of the earthquake epicenter. The earthquake was a multisegment cascading rupture, and displacement in the northern SF segment shows a “bow-shaped” distribution, possibly controlled by fault geometric segmentation. Based on the coseismic surface rupture characteristics and displacement distribution, combined with historical earthquake data and high slip rates, we emphasize that future seismic hazard assessments should focus on the fault segments with a long elapsed time at both the northern and southern termini of the SF. This study enhances the understanding of earthquake hazards in Myanmar and highlights the utility of high-resolution remote sensing image interpretation for coseismic displacement analysis and hazard assessment.