A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock, leaving destruction and tragedy in its wake. The quake, the strongest to hit Myanmar in over a century, flattened buildings, buckled roads, and destroyed bridges across the country, with the worst-hit areas including Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city with a population of over 1.7 million.
The ruling military junta confirmed at least 1,644 deaths and more than 3,400 injuries, with another 139 people reported missing. In neighboring Thailand, at least 10 people were killed, most of them in Bangkok. However, with communications disrupted and many remote areas cut off, the true scale of the disaster remains unclear, and the death toll is expected to rise further.
Rescue Efforts Underway
In Mandalay, rescue workers are engaged in a desperate search for survivors. At the 12-story Sky Villa Condominium, where half the building collapsed, emergency teams managed to pull a 30-year-old woman from the rubble after hours of effort. Meanwhile, others remain missing, including a 20-year-old worker whose distraught mother continues to wait for news.
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Mandalay’s historic sites have not been spared, with a centuries-old Buddhist pagoda reduced to rubble. “The monastery also collapsed. One monk died, and some people were injured,” a soldier at a checkpoint told AFP.
With Mandalay Airport sustaining damage, relief efforts are further complicated. Medical teams in the capital Naypyidaw were forced to treat casualties in the open air due to structural damage at major hospitals.
Junta’s Rare Plea for International Aid
The severity of the crisis prompted an unprecedented appeal for foreign assistance from Myanmar’s military leader, Min Aung Hlaing. The junta, known for rejecting international aid, declared a state of emergency in the six hardest-hit regions.
Aid has begun arriving, with India sending hygiene kits, blankets, and food supplies. China dispatched an 82-person rescue team, while Russia, Malaysia, and Singapore have also pledged assistance. South Korea committed $2 million in humanitarian aid.
However, humanitarian groups warn that Myanmar is ill-equipped to handle such a disaster. The country has been in turmoil since a 2021 military coup ignited a civil war, displacing 3.5 million people, many already facing severe food insecurity.
Bangkok Hit by Skyscraper Collapse
Across the border in Thailand, Bangkok—located 1,000 kilometers from the earthquake’s epicenter—also suffered significant damage. A 30-story skyscraper under construction collapsed in seconds, trapping workers beneath the debris. Rescuers are working tirelessly to locate survivors, with sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones aiding the search.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt confirmed that at least eight people have been pulled from the rubble alive, while eight others were found dead. Authorities fear that as many as 79 people remain unaccounted for. “I can’t describe how I feel—it happened in the blink of an eye,” said Khin Aung, a construction worker who narrowly escaped. “All my friends and my brother were in the building when it collapsed.”
Beyond the skyscraper collapse, over 2,000 reports of structural damage have been filed in Bangkok, prompting authorities to deploy more than 100 engineers to assess the city’s safety. Tremors were strong enough to shake rooftop pools, send people fleeing from buildings, and force hospitals to evacuate patients—including one woman who delivered a baby outdoors.
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Aftershocks—more than 70 in the first 24 hours—continue to rattle Myanmar and Thailand, heightening public anxiety. Thousands of residents in Mandalay and Bangkok chose to sleep outdoors in parks and open spaces, too afraid to return to their homes. “It was a pretty uncomfortable night for lots of people,” said an eyewitness in Naypyidaw. “We saw them in parks putting mattresses outside their homes.” This earthquake is Myanmar’s deadliest natural disaster in years, surpassing even the destruction of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.