A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 centered in Myanmar shook several countries in Southeast Asia on Friday. From Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital, local media and agencies have reported numerous buildings and bridges collapsed, as well as large cracks in the roads. One of the city's largest hospitals has collapsed, and doctors are treating the injured on the street. Official casualty figures are not available at the moment.
In neighboring Thailand, the collapse of a 30-story building under construction in Bangkok has caused the death of at least three people, said the Defense Minister, while the search continues for 70 missing people among the rubble of the collapsed skyscraper after the strong earthquake that hit the capital. Additionally, 50 injuries have been reported.
In other cities in Myanmar such as Taungoo, south of the capital, several witnesses report at least three deaths following the collapse of a mosque. There is no official confirmation yet. Meanwhile, humanitarian sources in Myanmar told Efe that about twenty children were trapped in the collapse of a monastery in the city of Taungoo.
Social media posts from Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, showed collapsed buildings and debris scattered on the streets. Some videos recorded at the airport in this city showed chaotic scenes of passengers evacuating the terminal while loud earthquake alarms sounded.
Hours after the earthquake, the military junta ruling Myanmar since the 2021 coup, launched an international aid appeal and declared a "state of emergency" in a central strip of the country, including major cities like Naypyidaw, home to the main military junta, as well as in Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, the northeast of Shan state, Naypyidaw, and Bago. The army has made an urgent appeal for blood donors.
Currently, large regions of Myanmar are controlled by ethnic groups fighting against the army. In many other parts of the country, controlled by the military, internet access is restricted, and the media operate under strict censorship, making it very difficult to assess the real extent of the tragedy.
The Myanmar Disaster Management Committee explained in a statement that the powerful earthquake was followed by three aftershocks that caused damage not yet quantified by the authorities, who have not provided an injury toll either.
The military junta pledged to provide aid and assistance to the affected, in a country with nearly 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, according to United Nations estimates.
The Red Cross stated that downed power lines added to the difficulties for their teams trying to reach the regions of Mandalay and Sagaing and the southern state of Shan. "Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered," they specified.
In neighboring Thailand, many Bangkok residents rushed out of buildings when the tremors began at noon. Several videos quickly went viral on social media showing water from skyscraper pools splashing from the rooftops.
The streets near the collapsed 30-story building, closed to vehicle traffic, are filled with cement dust, and there are dozens of ambulances and military personnel, while the tower has been completely destroyed.
Authorities, with information from the construction company, reported that 320 people were inside the building when it collapsed, and that 20 workers "are trapped in an elevator shaft."
Firefighters and rescue teams are on-site, where the Department of Medical Services has set up a field hospital to treat the injured. Later, local authorities clarified that dozens of workers had been rescued. However, rescuers informed the media present at the scene that there were still an "unknown number" of people trapped.
All metro and light rail lines in Bangkok were also temporarily suspended. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared a state of emergency.
In China, in the southern provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi, bordering Myanmar, local media reported feeling the earthquake strongly as well. In this area, seismic activity is common due to being above several tectonic plates in a state of constant compression.
The initial tremor occurred at 12:50 local time, 16 kilometers northwest of the Burmese city of Sagaing, at a depth of 10 kilometers. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an aftershock of magnitude 6.4 hit the region about 12 minutes after the initial earthquake.
"We all ran out of the house when the tremors began. I witnessed the collapse of a five-story building. In my neighborhood, everyone is on the street, and no one dares to go back into the buildings," a resident of Yangon, Myanmar's economic center, told Reuters. "The building was swaying. The tremor was extreme and lasted between three and four minutes. Now we have no electricity, although normally we only have power for barely 12 hours a day," another neighbor recounted.
Myanmar is located near a high tectonic activity zone due to the pressure between the Indian subcontinent plate to the south and the Eurasian plate to the north. Information is trickling out from this country, isolated and stunned by a bloody civil war.
After the military coup in February 2021, Myanmar was plunged into a humanitarian crisis that escalated as fighting between the army and rebel groups progressed. A recent UN report denounces that the war has displaced more than 3.5 million people and that thousands of opponents are being tortured in Burmese prisons.