Earthquake devastates Myanmar and shakes Bangkok to its core (video)
A monster 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar yesterday, March 28, unleashing a wave of destruction across the conflict-ravaged nation and sending deadly tremors as far as Bangkok, where a high-rise collapsed in a cloud of dust.
At least 144 people were killed and over 730 injured in Myanmar, but military leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing warned, “The death toll and injuries are expected to rise.”
In neighbouring Thailand, officials revised the death toll to six, with 22 injured and 101 missing, many from a collapsed 33-storey building near Bangkok’s Chatuchak market.
The epicentre struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, around midday. A powerful 6.4 aftershock soon followed. The quake triggered building collapses, including one of Mandalay’s largest monasteries.
Video footage captured the moment the Ma Soe Yane monastery crumbled as stunned monks looked on. Another clip showed devastation at Naypyidaw’s main hospital, where part of the emergency department was reduced to rubble.
The US Geological Survey estimated fatalities could surpass 1,000. With roads shattered and bridges destroyed, reaching remote areas may take weeks.
“We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake,” said Mohammed Riyas of the International Rescue Committee.
Myanmar’s junta announced a rare openness to foreign assistance. The UN pledged US$5 million (180 million baht) in relief. However, concerns lingered over international coordination, especially given cuts to US foreign aid.
In Yangon, terrified residents ran into the streets. In Naypyidaw, rescuers dug through debris with bare hands. In the city of Ruili, just over the Chinese border, reports emerged of collapsed buildings and widespread injuries.
Meanwhile, Bangkok experienced one of its strongest tremors in living memory. Lawyer Voranoot Thirawat described watching lights swing and hearing her office creak before she and her colleagues fled down 12 flights of stairs.
“In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok.”
Tourist Fraser Morton recalled chaos in a mall as shoppers bolted down upward-moving escalators.
“There was screaming and a lot of panic.”
With Myanmar already crippled by civil war and over 3 million displaced, the quake’s aftermath is expected to deepen the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, reported AP News.
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