At least 144 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings and infrastructure.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar’s second largest city — Mandalay — at around 4:30pm AEDT on Friday, followed by an almost-equally strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.
In a press conference on Saturday morning, the leader of Myanmar’s ruling military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing confirmed that at least 732 others have been injured.
“I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you,” he said.
The full extent of the damage is yet to be established, but given Myanmar is one of the world’s poorest countries — and is in the middle of a civil war — the death toll and injuries are expected to rise in the coming days as many areas of the country are out of reach for foreign aid groups.
While foreign aid has been offered by the World Health Organisation, the US, France, and India, ensuring this aid is fairly distributed to those in need poses a whole other task.
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions in the immediate aftermath of the quake. However, it remains unclear what this really means because the entire country has been under a state of emergency since 2021 when the military seized power.
The earthquake was also felt in nearby Thailand, where a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed — killing three workers and trapping 81 more inside.
Australian Sophie Monk was in Thailand at the time, and took to social media to share her vision from her hotel in Bangkok.
“I have never experienced anything like this. I’m in Bangkok and I was just in the scariest earthquake ever,” Monk said in the clip.
“I was on the 52nd floor and the building was going side-to-side. We were climbing from side-to-side on our tummies. It was so full-on” she added.
“We ran down the emergency stairs and made it out. Whoa, that will get your heart racing. It was so hectic, I don’t want to be in that sucker again!”
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has urged Australians in need of emergency consular assistance to contact the Australian Government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre 1300 555 135 (within Australia) and +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas).
The post Massive 7.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Myanmar And Thailand: ‘It Was So Hectic’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
