Full picture of the devastation is not clear in country embroiled in civil war but death toll is expected to rise
At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage. At least 10 died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. However, the death toll is expected to climb.
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, and information is tightly controlled.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” the head of Myanmar’s military government, senior general Min Aung Hlaing said.
In Thailand, Bangkok city authorities 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.
In Mandalay, the earthquake brought down multiple buildings, including one of the city’s largest monasteries.
Damaged road caused by the earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo: AP
Damaged road caused by the earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo: AP
Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. In a country where previous governments sometimes have been slow to accept foreign aid, Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar was ready to accept assistance. The United Nations allocated $5m (€4.6m) 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.
Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many of the temblors happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected yesterday. The US Geological Survey estimated that the death toll could top 1,000.
Myanmar’s English-language state newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar said five cities and towns had seen building collapses and two bridges had fallen.
Speaking at The Curragh in Co Kildare, Tánaiste Simon Harris said that the thoughts of the people of Ireland are with those affected by the quake.
Mr Harris said his department is not aware of any Irish citizens impacted, but said its embassy in Thailand is available for assistance.
“My thoughts, and I know the thoughts of people right around the country, are with the people of Myanmar and Thailand,” he said.
“The Irish Government stands ready to assist in any ways that we can and of course we’re looking to fully assess the impact of that earthquake with the UN and other international partners.
“But right now, our hearts go out to the people of that region.”
Elsewhere, video posted online showed robed monks in a Mandalay street shooting their own video of the multi-storey Ma Soe Yane monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed. Video also showed damage to the former royal palace.
Rescue personnel at the site of a building that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. Photo: Reuters
Rescue personnel at the site of a building that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, yesterday. Photo: Reuters
Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas.
Residents of Yangon, the nation’s largest city, rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. In Naypyitaw, some homes stood partly crumbled, while rescuers heaved away bricks from the piles of debris.
In Thailand, a 33-storey building under construction crumpled into a cloud of dust near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media.
Sirens blared across the Thai capital’s downtown as a rescuers streamed to the wreckage.
“It’s a great tragedy,” deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said after viewing the site, adding that there was hope that there were still survivors.
People stand near a collapsed building in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters
People stand near a collapsed building in Bangkok. Photo: Reuters
The city’s elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down.
While the area is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so powerful and rarely are felt in the Thai capital. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking, and she and her colleagues fled down 12 flights of stairs.
“In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok,” she said.
Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, was in one of Bangkok’s many malls when the quake struck.
The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10km. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage.