NAY PYI TAW — A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, strongly shaking buildings across a vast expanse of Southeast Asia and causing damage in cities as far away as Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand. At least 20 people were killed in Myanmar, and three in Thailand.
The quake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city with more than a million people, around 12.50pm local time, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. An aftershock of magnitude 6.4 was recorded about 11 minutes later.
A magnitude of 7.7 is considered to be strong. At a depth of about 10 kilometres, the quake was relatively shallow, which made it likely to cause violent shaking.
After the tremor in Mandalay, buildings were left in ruins, and injured people were rushed to the main hospital. Dozens of patients from the hospital were forced to flee to a nearby parking lot. Many were still hooked up to intravenous drips and oxygen tanks.
Daw Kyi Shwin, 45, said her three-year-old daughter had been killed. They were having lunch in their house when the earthquake struck.
"As soon as it started, I ran downstairs, but I didn't make it in time," Kyi Shwin said. "I tried to run to her, but before I could, bricks fell on me too.
She was bleeding heavily as she spoke outside the hospital. "There's no government to help us, not enough doctors to care for us,” she said. “I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. Please help."
The earthquake killed at least 20 people in Mandalay and injured 200 others, according to Dr Kyaw Zin of Mandalay General Hospital. It also caused bridges and several buildings across Myanmar to collapse, including in Nay Pyi Taw, the country's capital, The Global New Light of Myanmar, a state-owned newspaper, reported.
Myanmar is in one of the world’s most seismically active regions. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in eastern Myanmar killed more than 70 people and shattered hundreds of buildings in 2011.
Details of the extent of the damage and casualties in many parts of Myanmar were not immediately available. Humanitarian groups said they were trying to assess the situation but were having difficulty because electricity and communication lines were down. The nation has been ravaged by a civil war that began after the military seized power in a coup four years ago. (Story continues below)
A construction worker reacts near the site of the under-construction Office of the Auditor General in Bangkok after it collapsed on Friday. (Photo: Reuters)
In Bangkok, 965km from Mandalay, the streets were full of people who were afraid of aftershocks or were not allowed back into their buildings. Traffic was at a virtual standstill. Several videos captured water surging from pools atop hotels and residential towers in Bangkok.
Videos verified by The New York Times showed the collapse of a 30-storey skyscraper that was under construction in Bangkok for the Office of the Auditor General. The videos showed construction workers and passersby running for safety, while other videos filmed from an elevated highway showed clouds of dust engulfing the area.
At least three people died in the building collapse, according to a rescue worker. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared Bangkok to be an "area of emergency", asking residents to evacuate from tall buildings to avoid aftershocks.
The shaking was felt west of Myanmar in Bangladesh, including in its capital, Dhaka, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake also shook buildings in Vietnam, including in Hanoi, the capital, and Ho Chi Minh City, the state-run news outlet VnExpress reported.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
