A magnitude 7.7 earthquake, followed by a 6.4 aftershock, struck Myanmar on Friday, causing widespread damage and claiming lives across the region, Al Jazeera reports.
At least three people are reported dead in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, and dozens are feared trapped after a building under construction collapsed.
The initial quake hit approximately 10 miles northwest of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 6 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Myanmar’s ruling military has declared a state of emergency in six regions and states, promising to quickly assess the situation, conduct rescue operations, and provide humanitarian aid.
A major hospital in Naypyidaw has been designated as a “mass casualty area,” with reports indicating that rows of wounded are being treated outside the emergency department. Witnesses from the town of Taungnoo in the Bago region have reported that at least three people died after a mosque partially collapsed.
Social media posts from Mandalay, Myanmar’s ancient royal capital, show collapsed buildings and debris strewn across the city streets. A witness in the city, Htet Naing Oo, reported that a tea shop had collapsed with several people trapped inside.
Marie Manrique, of the International Federation of the Red Cross, anticipates the impact to be “quite large.”
In neighboring Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, at least three people were killed when a 30-story building under construction collapsed, according to Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. He added that 81 people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has announced a state of emergency in her country, and Bangkok has been declared a disaster area. Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily shut down but are expected to resume services on Saturday.
The earthquakes were also felt in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China, causing injuries and damage to houses in the city of Ruili, which borders northern Myanmar. Videos show building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled on a stretcher towards an ambulance.
Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India have also reported tremors.
Earthquakes are common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or higher struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the center of the country.
In 2016, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan killed three people and damaged numerous temples.
