What we’re covering
• Powerful quake rocks Myanmar: At least 144 people were killed and more than 730 injured after a 7.7-magnitude quake struck Myanmar near the city of Mandalay, according to the head of the country’s military government, who warned that casualties are likely to rise.
• Buildings collapse in Bangkok: The quake triggered the collapse of buildings hundreds of miles away in Thailand. At least nine people have died in the nation’s capital, and authorities are racing to free 110 people believed to be trapped under the rubble of an under-construction high-rise, officials said.
• Disaster response hindered: Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest nations, is reeling from a civil war sparked by a 2021 military coup. Weak infrastructure makes it ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters. Swathes of the country are run by a patchwork of militias, making it extremely difficult to gather reliable information. The military also regularly cuts communications in conflict zones.
Myanmar earthquake is strongest the country has seen in over 100 years
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar was the most powerful the country has seen in more than 100 years.
See how it stacks up with others in the region:
British tourist initially thought earthquake tremors were from movie she was watching in Bangkok theater
A British tourist vacationing in Bangkok at the time of Friday’s powerful earthquake in neighboring Myanmar said she initially thought the tremors were because of effects from a film she was watching at a theater.
“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,” Mandy Tang, a 38-year-old from London, told Britain’s PA Media news agency.
At least 153 people have so far been confirmed dead following Friday’s powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck war-torn Myanmar and caused chaos in some parts of neighboring Thailand — but the extent of the casualties is still emerging.
In Myanmar, at least 144 people have been killed and more than 730 were injured in the earthquake, according to the head of the country’s military government.
Min Aung Hlaing said most of the confirmed deaths were in the military-built capital of Naypyidaw, in central Myanmar, but little is known about the extent of the damage in rural areas, with electricity and internet access down in parts of the country.
In Thailand, at least eight people were killed after a building collapsed in the country’s capital Bangkok after the quake hit, according to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
The deputy prime minister added that there is a possibility that more bodies will be found in the rubble of the building, with more than 100 trapped and rescue teams due to work throughout the night.
Another death was confirmed after a crane collapsed elsewhere in the city.
