A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, March 28. The quake destroyed buildings, bridges, and a monastery. Photos and videos from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicenter near Mandalay. That is Myanmar’s second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring at 6.4 magnitude.
Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt. However, many of the temblors happen in lightly populated areas, not cities like those affected Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey, a government science agency, estimated that the death toll could top 1,000.
More Details About The Injured & Destruction From The Earthquake
The full extent of death, injury, and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, one of the world’s poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war that includes tightly controlled information.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said. He announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country.
Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The announcement is a change of pace for a country where previous governments have sometimes been slow to accept foreign aid. The United Nations allocated $5 million to start relief efforts.
The earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings in Mandalay, including one of the city’s largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of Naypyidaw showed rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble. Multiple fallen buildings were homes to civil servants.
In Thailand, Bangkok city authorities said 10 people died, 16 sustained injuries, and 101 are missing from three construction sites, including a collapsed high-rise. Also, in Thailand, a 33-story building under construction crumpled into a cloud of dust near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market. Onlookers screamed and ran in a video circulating on social media. Vehicles on a nearby freeway came to a stop.
Relief & Assessment Efforts Could Take “Weeks” In Myanmar
Myanmar’s state newspaper, Global New Light of Myanmar, reported that five cities and towns had experienced building collapses. Additionally, two bridges fell, including one on a key highway between Mandalay. Elsewhere, a video posted online showed robed monks in Mandalay Street shooting their own video of the multistory Ma Soe Yane monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. The video also showed damage to the former royal palace. Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, raising water levels in the lowland areas.
Still, the International Rescue Committee’s Myanmar director, Mohammed Riyas, said it could be “weeks” before knowing all the damage.
For context, Myanmar’s military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones. Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar. So, many places are dangerous or impossible for aid groups to reach. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting, and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.
Associated Press staff David Rising, Jintamas Saksornchai, Adam Schreck, Haruka Naga, Jerry Harmer, Grant Peck and Penny Wang in Bangkok, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Edith M. Lederer and Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
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