Closing summary
It is night now in Mandalay, Myanmar, and Bangkok, Thailand. Here is what we know so far after an earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude hit central Myanmar on Friday.
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. The quake, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency.
At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by a major earthquake that struck the country on Friday, according to Myanmar’s junta chief. Min Aung Hlaing said he expected the toll to rise and he was inviting “any country, any organisation” to help with relief efforts – a rare request from the isolated junta.
Thai authorities declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday, while Bangkok city hall said on Friday that Thailand’s capital had been declared a disaster area.
Eight people are confirmed to have been killed in Bangkok, the city’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt has said. This includes seven people killed at the construction site of the collapsed high-rise, where rescuers are still scrambling to save dozens of construction workers feared trapped under the rubble. Police are using drones to detect body heat in the search for survivors, and rescue dogs have also been deployed, Thai media reported. Thailand’s defence minister said 90 people were missing at the site of the high-rise building under construction that collapsed.
The earthquake was also felt in China Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports. The shaking in Ruili was so strong that people couldn’t stand.
Bangkok’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt ordered the immediate establishment of an earthquake response command centre, and instructed all districts and hospitals to assess damages. Police officers have also been deployed to evacuate people from unsafe buildings and manage traffic. Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
Witnesses described evacuating swaying buildings with plaster raining down on them, while images showed damaged roads with large cracks. Video footage of a Bangkok high-rise showed water from a pool sloshing over the side of it.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for Myanmar’s military junta to allow humanitarian access. Earlier in the day, the junta made a rare call for international help as it declared a state of emergency across six regions.
The Red Cross shared its concerns for the state of large scale dams. “Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them”, Marie Manrique, programme coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross said to reporters in Geneva, via video link from Yangon.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is readying medical supplies and said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday’s “huge” earthquake in Myanmar. It added that it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the Myanmar’s parallel national unity government, said troops from the anti-junta militias, known as the people’s defence forces, would be providing humanitarian help. “It’s very serious, we need humanitarian and technical assistance from the international community,” Zin Mar Aung said in a phone interview, adding communications was a major challenge, including internet restrictions imposed by the junta in a hard-hit area.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-country bloc stood ready to help after a strong, deadly earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand. France echoed the offer of support, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy advised British nationals in Myanmar and in Thailand to follow government advice. Earlier today, the UK Foreign Office warned “there may be several strong after-shocks” after the quake.
Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims of the powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand, the Vatican press office said. In a telegram published by the Vatican, Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” caused by the earthquake.
The US Agency for International Development announced it will send some teams to Thailand to help with recovery efforts. Donald Trump said he had spoken to officials in Myanmar and would be providing “help”.
That’s it from me, Donna Ferguson. Thanks for following along.
Scottish tourist Fraser Morton has told the Associated Press there was “panic” when the earthquake hit while he was shopping for camera equipment in a Bangkok shopping centre.
“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” he said.
“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense.”
Reuters has been speaking to people who experienced the earthquake in Mandalay.
“I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes,” one Mandalay resident has told reporters.
“We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking … Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside.”
A rescue worker from the Moe Saydanar charity group said it had retrieved at least 60 bodies from monasteries and buildings in Pyinmanar, near Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, and more people were trapped.
In the purpose-built capital itself, a 1,000-bed hospital sustained damage and roads were left with huge fissures, state media reported.
The bodies of 30 people had been recovered from collapsed multi-story apartment blocks, according to a rescue worker from Amarapura, an ancient city and now a township of Mandalay.
“I have never experienced anything like this before – our town looks like a collapsed city,” he told Reuters, estimating that about a fifth of the buildings had been destroyed.
“We received calls for help from people from the inside, but we cannot help because we do not have enough manpower and machines to remove the debris, but we will not stop working”.
Donald Trump has told Reuters that he has spoken with officials in Myanmar about the earthquake and that his administration would be providing some form of assistance.
“We’re going to be helping,” he told reporters at the White House.
A British tourist on holiday in Bangkok has told PA Media she initially thought the shaking was due to effects from the film she was watching.
Mandy Tang, 38, from London, told PA: “I was watching a film called The Red Envelope. It happened to be quite an action-packed scene when the shake happened, so I initially thought it could have been Imax effects.
“I looked around and none of the local audience left their seats. However, my Taiwanese friend insisted it’s an earthquake, so I walked out of the theatre with her, and we met the security guards coming to evacuate us just outside the theatre.
“We could see the doors were opening and closing, all the chairs were shaking.”
Tang said she was trying to get a car back to her hotel, adding: “Basically I’m tired and I’m trying to get back.
“It was quite nerve-racking, I’ve never experienced such a strong shake. It is quite scary.”
PA Media reporters have been talking to people who experienced the earthquake in Bangkok.
A Scottish expat told the news agency “blood rushed to his head” as an earthquake shook his apartment building and forced him to evacuate his home.
Alex MacGregor, a 36 year-old PR consultant who has been living in the Thai capital for the last six months, was working from home and waiting for the delivery of his lunch when the tremors began at about 1.30pm local time.
“I was just waiting for the driver to come with my food and I look in the pool and noticed the water started to kind of lap at the edges … but then it started to get violent,” said MacGregor, who is originally from Inverness.
“All of a sudden I started feeling faint, like that kind of blood rushing to the head feeling, and I was like: ‘Am I ill here, or what’s going on?’
“Then I looked up the other condo, which is a really high skyscraper and I saw their pool water coming over the sides and that’s when I knew it was an earthquake.
“It’s a weird sensation, you’re seeing a lot of things happen in slow motion around you… I actually went and sat down because I was feeling unsteady on my feet.”
Despite the tremors, MacGregor said people were “remarkably calm” as an alarm went off in his building telling all occupants to evacuate.
“Shortly after I left my condo area to come to a coffeeshop… all the shops here in this eastern part of Bangkok were closed, so people were lining the streets,” he said.
“We knew there was going to be an aftershock, so I’ve made my way to an outdoor space and there’s a lot of people just sitting out here working on their laptops generally being chill.
“The Thai people are really friendly people, very chill – the last people that are going to panic in this kind of situation.”
Living in the “fairly residential” On Nut in eastern Bangkok, MacGregor said he thought the worst of the earthquake affected other areas of the city.
Updated
The US Agency for International Development will send some teams to Thailand to help with recovery efforts, a source familiar with the matter has told Reuters.
Last month, the Trump administration said it was eliminating more than 90% of the agency’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world. All USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programmes, were placed on administrative leave globally.
Updated
The earthquake was felt in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.
Videos that one outlet said were shot by a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance.
The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.
Here are some more of the latest photos from the earthquake:
At least 144 killed as rescue efforts continue
Myanmar’s junta chief says at least 144 people have been killed and 732 injured by a major earthquake that struck the country and also brought down a high-rise building under construction in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
Min Aung Hlaing said he expected the toll to rise and he was inviting “any country, any organisation” to help with relief efforts – a rare request from the isolated junta.
The powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar at 1.20pm local time at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles). Its epicentre was about 17.2km from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city.
In Thailand, three people were killed when a high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed. Rescuers are searching for another 81 people trapped in the rubble.
On the Myanmar side of the border, witnesses and local media said people had been killed in the city of Mandalay and the towns Toungoo and Aungban. Hundreds of casualties were taken to a hospital in the capital, Naypyidaw, with injured people being treated outside because of damage to the building.
The scale of the damage in Myanmar is yet to become clear, though social media footage emerging from central regions has shown multiple buildings collapsed or damaged.
Here is an updated map showing the impact of the earthquake:
The United Nations is mobilising in Southeast Asia to help those in need, UN secretary-general António Guterres said on Friday after a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar rocked the region.
“The government of Myanmar has asked for international support and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar,” Guterres said.
“But of course there are other countries impacted. The epicenter is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation,” he added.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It has just gone 9.30pm in Mandalay, Myanmar, and 10pm in Bangkok, Thailand. Here is what we know so far after an earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude hit central Myanmar on Friday.
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. The quake, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency.
Thai authorities declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday, while Bangkok city hall said on Friday that Thailand’s capital had been declared a disaster area.
Eight people are confirmed to have been killed in Bangkok, the city’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt has said. This includes seven people killed at the construction site of the collapsed high-rise, where rescuers are still scrambling to save dozens of construction workers feared trapped under the rubble. Police are using drones to detect body heat in the search for survivors, and rescue dogs have also been deployed, Thai media reported. Thailand’s defence minister said 90 people were missing at the site of the high-rise building under construction that collapsed.
At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by a major earthquake that struck the country on Friday, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday. There have been seperate reports coming through on Friday from eyewitnesses and doctors but no official death toll has been shared at the time of writing.
The full extent of death, injury and destruction as a result of the earthquake was not immediately clear – particularly in Myanmar. It is embroiled in a civil war and information is tightly controlled. It is expected that the number of dead and injured will rise as rescue operations continue.
Bangkok’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt ordered the immediate establishment of an earthquake response command centre, and instructed all districts and hospitals to assess damages. Police officers have also been deployed to evacuate people from unsafe buildings and manage traffic. Prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
Witnesses described evacuating swaying buildings with plaster raining down on them, while images showed damaged roads with large cracks. Video footage of a Bangkok high-rise showed water from a pool sloshing over the side of it.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called for Myanmar’s military junta to allow humanitarian access. Earlier in the day, the junta made a rare call for international help as it declared a state of emergency across six regions.
The Red Cross shared its concerns for the state of large scale dams. “Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them”, Marie Manrique, programme coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross said to reporters in Geneva, via video link from Yangon.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is readying medical supplies and said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday’s “huge” earthquake in Myanmar. It added that it was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the Myanmar’s parallel national unity government, said troops from the anti-junta militias, known as the people’s defence forces, would be providing humanitarian help. “It’s very serious, we need humanitarian and technical assistance from the international community,” Zin Mar Aung said in a phone interview, adding communications was a major challenge, including internet restrictions imposed by the junta in a hard-hit area.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-country bloc stood ready to help after a strong, deadly earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand. France echoed the offer of support, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated.
UK foreign secretary David Lammy advised British nationals in Myanmar and in Thailand to follow government advice. Earlier today, the UK Foreign Office warned “there may be several strong after-shocks” after the quake.
Pope Francis offered his prayers for the victims of the powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand, the Vatican press office said. In a telegram published by the Vatican, Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” caused by the earthquake.
Updated
At least 144 people killed in Myanmar by earthquake, state media reports
At least 144 people in Myanmar have been killed and 732 injured by a major earthquake that struck the country on Friday, state-run MRTV said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday, according to Reuters.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake has rocked Myanmar and Thailand, bringing down buildings and prompting Myanmar’s isolated military junta to make a rare request for international aid.
Initial footage from Myanmar shows widespread damage to infrastructure:
Pope Francis has offered his prayers for the victims of the powerful earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand, the Vatican press office said.
In a telegram published by the Vatican, Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” caused by the earthquake.
He offered prayers for those who died – estimated for now at more than 20 people – and for emergency workers.
The 88-year-old head of the Catholic church is recovering at home after five weeks in hospital with life-threatening double pneumonia, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Eight people confirmed dead in Bangkok, says city governor
Eight people are confirmed to have been killed in Bangkok, the city’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt has said.
This includes seven people killed at the construction site of the collapsed high rise.
An earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude has hit central Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has said, with Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, among other areas affected.
My colleague and the Guardian’s science correspondent, Nicola Davis, has taken a look at the origins of the event and the scale of the disaster to produce this helpful explainer:
It is evening now in Bangkok and rescuers are still scrambling to save dozens of construction workers feared trapped under a collapsed high rise that was under construction in the capital.
Police are using drones to detect body heat in the search for survivors, and rescue dogs have also been deployed, Thai media reported. The 30-floor building was supposed to form government offices.
Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the Myanmar’s parallel national unity government, said troops from the anti-junta militias, known as the people’s defence forces, would be providing humanitarian help.
“It’s very serious, we need humanitarian and technical assistance from the international community,” Zin Mar Aung said in a phone interview, adding communications was a major challenge, including internet restrictions imposed by the junta in a hard-hit area.
Updated
World Health Organization triggers emergency system for 'huge' Myanmar earthquake
The World Health Organization (WHO) is readying medical supplies for the “huge” Myanmar earthquake, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The WHO said it had triggered its emergency management system in response to Friday’s “huge” earthquake in Myanmar and was mobilising its logistics hub in Dubai to prepare trauma injury supplies.
The WHO is coordinating its earthquake response from its Geneva headquarters “because we see this as a huge event” with “clearly a very, very big threat to life and health”, spokesperson Margaret Harris told a media briefing.
“We’ve activated our logistics hub to look particularly for trauma supplies and things like external fixators because we expect that there will be many, many injuries that need to be dealt with,” Harris said. She added that the WHO would focus on sending essential medicines.
Harris said that due to recent experience with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, “we know very well what you need to send in first”.
“We are ready to move in – but now we have to know exactly where, what and why. It’s information from the ground that’s really critical right now,” said Harris.
Updated
Here is a map detailing the impact radius of the earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand on Friday.
As you can see, the epicentre of the quake is located in the former royal capital, Mandalay, and according to the US Geological Survey, the aftershock “is likely widespread” across the region.
Updated
UK foreign secretary David Lammy has commented on the “devastating” earthquakes in Myanmar.
Lammy has advised British nationals in Myanmar and in Thailand to follow government advice. He adds:
Our thoughts are with those affected at this difficult time.”
Earlier today, the UK Foreign Office warned “there may be several strong after-shocks” after the quake. “If you’re in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media,” it said.
Updated
Here are some images coming in via the newswires on Friday.
Updated
At least 20 people have died after arriving at Myanmar hospital, says doctor
At least 20 people have died at a major hospital in Myanmar’s capital after a huge earthquake hit the country, causing widespread destruction, a doctor told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“About 20 people died after they arrived at our hospital so far. Many people were injured,” said the doctor at the 1,000-bed general hospital in Naypyidaw, who requested anonymity.
The Guardian community team would like to hear from people who have been affected by the earthquake’s impact on Myanmar and Thailand.
My colleagues would like to hear from residents, workers and tourists who have been affected by the earthquake. Please note that while they’d like to hear from you, your security is most important.
We recognise it may not always be safe or appropriate to record or share your experiences – so please think about this when considering whether to get in touch with the Guardian.
You can tell the team how you have been affected by the earthquake by filling in the form at the link below or by messaging them (details at the page linked below):
A world-renowned US programme for international disaster and crisis assistance can no longer deploy in the event of a major emergency due to the Trump administration’s dismantling of the US foreign aid agency, nine sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
The Disaster Assistance Response Teams, or DARTs, involve highly trained staff who specialise in mobilising within 24 to 48 hours of a disaster to lead the US government’s humanitarian response on the ground.
DARTs have deployed in the worst emergencies in recent history, including the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed 300,000 people, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, and wars in Iraq and Syria.
As a result of president Donald Trump’s funding freeze for the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the four DARTs currently in operation in Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine can no longer function normally, according to seven current USAID employees who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to fear of retribution.
'Everything was swaying - then I realised it was the building': Witness recalls escape from 28th floor of Bangkok building
Ex-Guardian reporter Elena Cresci was on the 28th floor of her building near Chatuchak Park in Bangkok, Thailand, when she felt the earthquake today.
In a voicenote to the Guardian live blog, she described her experience:
I was cooking some food and I went to get something. I thought I was really light-headed from not having eaten – everything was swaying – then I realised it was the building.
I ran, grabbing my bag with my wallet, phone and keys. Everyone was running out of the building. I ran down the stairs from the 28th floor and the whole building was shaking. You could see plaster falling down. People were shouting ‘hurry, hurry’ in Thai.
I don’t know how long it took for me to run down from the 28th floor but by the time I got to the bottom, it [the building] had stopped shaking. I could see the cracks in the wall and that was pretty scary. We crossed the road and looked up at the building not sure what was going to happen … people were pretty panicked.”
Speaking from a nearby cafe where she had taken shelter, Cresci said she had not yet gone back to her home. “I’m just building up the courage to [go back],” she said, adding that she would not feel comfortable sleeping there tonight.
Human Rights Watch has also called for Myanmar’s military junta to allow humanitarian access.
“The Myanmar junta should immediately facilitate humanitarian access to areas affected by the earthquake. The military has an appalling history of blocking aid following natural disasters, depriving people of assistance and increasing the suffering of communities affected,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International has called for Myanmar’s military junta to allow “unimpeded access to all humanitarian organisations”.
The military seized power in a coup in 2021, prompting widespread opposition from the public and plunging the country into conflict. It has repeatedly been accused of blocking aid to areas where its opponents are active.
Earlier today, the junta made a rare call for international help as it declared a state of emergency across six regions.
Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman said the scale of the disaster in Myanmar may not become clear for some time, given that many media outlets are banned and internet access restricted. “That there appear to be more images and information coming out of Thailand than the epicentre in Myanmar is a startling reminder of the military’s crushing of press freedom since the 2021 coup,” he said.
Freeman added:
This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar. More than three million people remain internally displaced from armed conflict that has raged since the 2021 military coup.
Over a third of the population will need humanitarian assistance this year. At the same time, the impacts of US aid cuts on humanitarian services in the country are just starting to bite.
Central Myanmar, which is believed to be the epicentre of the earthquake, has been ravaged by military airstrikes and clashes between resistance groups and the military.
Myanmar’s military has a longstanding practice of denying aid to areas where groups who resist it are active. It must immediately allow unimpeded access to all humanitarian organizations and remove administrative barriers delaying needs assessments.”
Updated
France also said on Friday it stood ready to provide support after a powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand, adding that its diplomatic premises in the Thai capital had been evacuated, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Earlier, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen said the EU stood ready to help (see 11.22am GMT).
“We are ready to provide support as soon as the need has been expressed and we have evacuated our premises in Bangkok to guard against any form of risk,” said foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who was in Shanghai on Friday, referring to the French embassy, schools, and other buildings.
Updated
EU 'ready' to provide support after earthquake rocks Myanmar and Thailand
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday the 27-country bloc stood ready to help after a strong, deadly earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand.
“Heartbreaking scenes from Myanmar and Thailand after the devastating earthquake. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” von der Leyen wrote on X.
She added:
Europe’s Copernicus satellites are already helping first responders. We are ready to provide more support.”
Thai rescuers are seeking to free 81 people still trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in the Thai capital Bangkok after a strong earthquake, a deputy prime minister said on Friday, reports Reuters.
Thai defence minister Phumtham Wechachai told reporters three people have been confirmed dead.
Buildings and public infrastructure have been damaged and collapsed as a result of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with concerns for state of large scale dams, the Red Cross said on Friday, according to Reuters.
“Public infrastructure has been damaged including roads, bridges and public buildings. We currently have concerns for large scale dams that people are watching to see the conditions of them”, Marie Manrique, programme coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross said to reporters in Geneva, via video link from Yangon.
“We anticipate the impact to be quite large”, she added.
Friday’s earthquake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.
This video shows water falling over the side of a Bankgkok high-rise.
More images have been coming in via the newswires:
Thai defence minister says 90 missing and three dead at the site of collapsed high-rise
Thailand’s defence minister says 90 people are missing and three are confirmed dead at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed when a powerful earthquake hit the capital.
Defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai offered no more details about the rescue efforts but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from outside the collapsed building, reports the Associated Press (AP).
The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.
“Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,” the Red Cross said, reports the Associated Press (AP). “Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.”
Three confirmed dead in Bangkok after earthquake, governor says
Three people been confirmed dead in Thailand’s capital from damage sustained after a strong earthquake struck neighbouring Myanmar, Bangkok’s governor said on Friday.
Chadchart Sittipunt warned of possible aftershocks but urged people to be calm and said the situation was largely under control, reports Reuters.
Authorities had received 169 calls about damage to buildings in Bangkok, he said.
Urban rail systems in Bangkok were temporarily closed but expected to resume services on Saturday.
Footage widely shared on Thai social media shows the moment a tower block under construction collapsed in a Bangkok district after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.
Thai emergency responders said two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of the building.
Three people reported dead in Taungoo, Myanmar
At least three people were killed in the town of Taungoo in Myanmar when a mosque partially collapsed, witnesses said, according to Reuters.
Local media reported that at least two people died and 20 were injured after a hotel collapsed in Aung Ban.
Updated
Bangkok governor orders immediate establishment of earthquake response command centre
Bangkok’s governor Chadchart Sittipunt has ordered the immediate establishment of an earthquake response command centre, and instructed all districts and hospitals to assess damages.
Police officers have also been deployed to evacuate people from unsafe buildings and manage traffic. The public has been advised to avoid high rise buildings, which dominated the densely populated Thai capital.
The scale of the damage caused by the earthquake in Myanmar is yet to become clear, but social media footage emerging from central regions has shown multiple buildings collapsed or damaged.
Footage reportedly taken inside Mandalay airport shows people racing to safety through dusty hallways, the floor scattered with ceiling panels. The videos, published by local media, show panicked people crouching on the floor outside the airport for safety.
Images published by local outlet Khit Thit Media show piles of bricks and rubble outside a damaged mosque, also in Mandalay. At least 20 people died at the scene, Khit Thit reported, though it is not possible to verify this figure.
The Ava Bridge, also known as the Old Sagaing Bridge, which crosses the Irrawaddy River between Mandalay and Sagaing regions, and was originally built by the British during the colonial times, also has collapsed.
Myanmar has been gripped by conflict since the military seized power in February 2021, in a coup that was widely opposed by the public. The military has since launched brutal crackdowns on any forms of opposition, and it is highly dangerous for journalists to operate inside the country. Such risks, along with disruptions to communication, make it difficult to verify the situation on the ground.
Eight people killed after building collapse in Mandalay, eyewitness tells Guardian
Eight people have been killed and others are feared trapped after a construction building in Pyi Gyi Tagon township of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, collapsed at about 1 pm, an eyewitness told the Guardian.
“The whole of Mandalay city was affected by the earthquake. The rescue teams and hospitals are now overrun. We are managing with the resources we have in the neighbourhood,” an eye witness, who asked not to be named, said.
Two people, a middle aged man and an older woman, had died in the building collapse, he added.
Reporting by Esther J, a journalist from Myanmar who writes for the Guardian.
Updated
A state of emergency has been declared in six regions and states in Myanmar by the military-run government.
State run MRTV television said the government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyidaw and Mandalay, after the earthquake and a strong aftershock, reports the Associated Press (AP)
Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible and it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide, reports the AP.
At least two people dead and 'unknown number' under Bangkok skyscraper rubble, say Thai emergency responders
Thai emergency responders say two people have been found dead and an unknown number of others are still under the rubble of a building that collapsed after a massive earthquake hit the capital, Bangkok.
Rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters another seven people had been found alive, as he spoke outside the tall pile of rubble that was once a high-rise building under construction, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The multistorey structure collapsed after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck midday on Friday, sending the crane on top toppling to the ground and a massive plume of dust into the air.
Updated
Myanmar junta asks for international aid after quake as six regions declare state of emergency
Myanmar’s ruling junta made a rare request for international humanitarian aid and declared a state of emergency across six regions after a powerful quake hit the country on Friday.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters saw junta chief Min Aung Hlaing arrive at a hospital in Naypyidaw where injured people were being treated after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar.
Thai capital declared disaster area after quake, city hall says
Thailand’s capital has been declared a disaster area after a strong earthquake in neighbouring Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said on Friday.
The Bangkok governor has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response, it said, accoding to Reuters.
Updated
A strong earthquake in Myanmar has caused damage to many high-rise buildings in the Thai capital Bangkok, its governor said on Friday.
Chadchart Sittipunt said the number of buildings damaged was not yet known and inspections were under way. He urged people to be cautious, reports Reuters.
One person killed in skyscraper collapse in Bangkok, authorities confirm
Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine has said that at least one person was killed after a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok collapsed after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.
Dozens of workers have been rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper, they added.
Updated
Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.
In Myanmar, a team of Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the earthquake struck.
The AFP team reported pieces fell from the ceiling as the building began shaking. Uniformed staff ran outside, some trembling and tearful, others grabbing mobile phones to try to contact loved ones, they said.
Roads nearby were buckled and broken by the tremors and the route to one of the city’s biggest hospitals was jammed with traffic. The hospital was a “mass casualty area” after the quake, officials said, according to AFP.
At the 1,000-bed hospital, the injured were being treated in the street outside, intravenous drips hanging from their gurneys, reports AFP.
State of emergency declared in Bangkok after quake, says Thai PM
Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday after the city was hit by a major earthquake centred in Myanmar.
Damage was reported to buildings across Bangkok after the 7.7-magnitude quake, including a 30-storey under construction skyscraper that collapsed in the city’s north.
Police and medics say 43 trapped as Bangkok skyscraper collapses
A 30-storey skyscraper under construction for government offices has collapsed in Bangkok trapping 43 workers, police and medics said, after the city was rocked by a strong earthquake.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the building in the north of the Thai capital was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds after the 7.7-magnitude quake in neighbouring Myanmar.
Witnesses in Bangkok told Reuters that people ran out on to the streets in panic, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes.
One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said. Hundreds of employees filed out via emergency stairs.
Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while staff with medical kits found office chairs for those in shock, reports Reuters.
Here are some more images coming in via the newswires:
A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar midday on Friday, police said, and possible casualties are not yet known.
According to the Associated Press (AP), a dramatic video has been circulating on social media showing the multistory building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust.
Police told the AP they were responding to the scene near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.
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'A five-storey building collapsed in front of my eyes'
One witness in Mandalay told Reuters:
We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking.
I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings.”
Witnesses contacted by Reuters in Yangon said many people ran out from buildings in the city, the largest in Myanmar.
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An officer from the Myanmar fire services department told Reuters:
We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet.”
Reuters reports that social media posts from Mandalay, Myanmar’s ancient royal capital that is at the centre of its Buddhist heartland, showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets of the city. However, Reuters could not immediately verify the posts.
In Thailand, there were no immediate reports of casualties and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake.
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
As we mentioned earlier, the epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 30 miles (50km) east of the city of Monywa.
The AP says that in the capital Naypyidaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
Further reports of damage were not immediately available from Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war.
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Here are some of the latest images from Thailand:
Strong, shallow earthquake strikes Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand
An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 has struck Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, causing hundreds of people to pour out of swaying buildings in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand 1,400km away.
USGS said the quake on Friday was shallow, at a depth of just 10km (six miles) with the epicentre near the central city of Mandalay, about 50km (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in a state of chaos after a coup in 2021.
Startled residents in densely populated central Bangkok poured out of high-rise condominiums and hotels. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.
“I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” Duangjai, a resident of popular tourist city Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, told AFP.
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