Death toll set to rise after earthquake causes destruction across Myanmar

A powerful earthquake has rocked Myanmar, causing extensive damage across a wide swathe of one of the world’s poorest countries and prompting officials to warn that the initial death toll of 144 is likely to rise.

In neighbouring Thailand, at least 10 died in Bangkok, where a high-rise building under construction collapsed.

The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war, and where information is tightly controlled.

“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured.

In Thailand, authorities in Bangkok said 10 people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing from three construction sites, including the high-rise.

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck at midday, with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar ’s second-largest city. Aftershocks followed, one of them measuring a strong 6.4 magnitude.

Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected on Friday. The US Geological Survey, an American government science agency, estimated that the death toll could top 1,000.

In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including one of the city’s largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of Naypyidaw showed rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of multiple buildings used to house civil servants.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas.

In a country where prior governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Mr Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The United Nations allocated 5 million dollars to start relief efforts.

But amid images of buckled and cracked roads and reports of a collapsed bridge and a burst dam, there were concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a humanitarian crisis.

“We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake,” said Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committee’s Myanmar director.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok’s many centres shopping for camera equipment.

“I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.”

Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Mr Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park, away from the tall buildings.

“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,” he said. “Lots of chaos.”

Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved from the shockwaves.

She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs.

“In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok,” she said.

Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.

“The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse,” he said.

As he came onto the street, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool.

“When I saw the building, oh my God, that’s when … it hit me,” he said. “There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.”

The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the incident was at a shallow 6.2 miles, with an epicentre in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.

A state of emergency was declared in six regions and states in Myanmar.

State-run MRTV television said the military-run government’s proclamation includes the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay.

A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later.

The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.

They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.

The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the earthquake was felt in almost all regions of the country.

The epicentre of the earthquake was 30 miles east of the city of Monywa in Myanmar.

In the capital Naypyitaw, the earthquake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.

In Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and close to the epicentre, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook.

While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.

In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the road connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.

The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.

“Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,” the Red Cross said. “Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.”

Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in Mandalay, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area.

“This disaster will have left people devastated and in need of drinking water, food and shelter,” said Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, Middle East and Europe for Christian Aid.

“Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need.”

To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.

Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance.

The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people could not stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.

Pope Francis, who is convalescing after a five-week hospital stay for life-threatening double pneumonia, offered prayers to the victims of the earthquake.

“The pope has been informed of the disaster in Myanmar and is praying for the dramatic situation and for the many victims, also in Thailand,” the Vatican said in a statement.