BANGKOK — A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states of Myanmar following a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake, with its epicenter located near the country’s second-largest city. State-run MRTV television reported that the military-led government’s declaration includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock struck around midday.
Myanmar, currently embroiled in a civil war, has many areas that are difficult to access. The full scope of the damage and the military’s ability to provide relief remains unclear at this time.
Meanwhile, in Thailand, emergency responders are working tirelessly after a massive earthquake struck the capital, Bangkok. Two people have been confirmed dead, with several others still trapped under the debris of a collapsed building. Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon shared that seven survivors have been pulled from the rubble, as he stood outside what used to be a high-rise construction site now reduced to a towering heap of rubble.
BANGKOK (AP) — A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Thailand and neighboring Myanmar around midday on Friday, causing widespread chaos and significant damage. In Bangkok, a high-rise building under construction near the bustling Chatuchak market collapsed, sending a massive cloud of dust into the air and toppling a crane. The extent of casualties from the building collapse remains unclear, and authorities have not yet determined how many workers were onsite at the time.
A dramatic video circulating on social media captured the moment the multi-story structure crumbled, with onlookers screaming and fleeing in panic. People across Bangkok evacuated buildings and were advised to remain outside in case of additional aftershocks.
The earthquake, which had its epicenter in Myanmar, was reported to have occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Both the U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences confirmed the seismic event.
Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, was shopping in a Bangkok mall when the earthquake hit. “All of a sudden the whole building began to move,” he said. “There was screaming and panic. People were running the wrong way down the escalators, and there was lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.” Morton, along with thousands of others, fled to Benjasiri Park, seeking safety and trying to contact loved ones.
The chaos continued as the sound of sirens echoed through central Bangkok, and the city’s already congested streets became gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway were shut down, while city officials declared Bangkok a disaster area to facilitate emergency aid.
Paul Vincent, a British tourist, was at a street-side bar when the quake hit. “The next thing, everybody came onto the street, screaming and panicking, which obviously made it worse,” he recalled. “I saw a high-rise building swaying, and water was falling from a rooftop pool. When I saw that, it hit me. People were crying in the streets.”
In Myanmar’s Mandalay, close to the epicenter, the earthquake caused damage to the former royal palace and several buildings. The Sagaing region saw the collapse of a 90-year-old bridge, while some sections of the highway between Mandalay and Yangon were also affected. In the capital Naypyitaw, religious shrines were damaged, and parts of homes were destroyed.
The earthquake’s effects were felt beyond Myanmar, with China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces also experiencing tremors. In Ruili, a city near the Myanmar border, building debris cluttered the streets, and several people were injured.
In Bangkok, alarms went off in high-rise buildings as the earthquake hit. Residents of the greater Bangkok area, home to more than 17 million people, evacuated from skyscrapers, with water from rooftop pools sloshing over and debris falling from buildings.
“I’ve experienced earthquakes in Myanmar before, but they were brief,” said Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs, a Hungarian resident of Bangkok. “This one lasted at least a minute, and it felt much stronger.”
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention reported that the quake was felt across nearly all regions of the country, prompting Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to call an emergency meeting to assess the situation.
