How an earthquake in Myanmar also killed people and shook buildings in Bangkok
By the Asia-Pacific Newsroom with wires
Topic:Earthquakes
13m ago13 minutes agoMon 31 Mar 2025 at 5:23am
A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda.
A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda in Mandalay after the earthquake. (AP: Thein Zaw)
Videos of water slopping over the sides of Bangkok's sky-high infinity pools during an earthquake went viral on Friday.
The magnitude-7.7 earthquake had its epicentre more than 1,000 kilometres away in Myanmar — and was one of the strongest quakes to hit the country in a century.
More than 1,700 people have been killed there and aid is struggling to reach people in need of medical care, food and water.
Here's what we know so far.
What happened?
The centre of the earthquake was 21km from Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay.
Mandalay, along with the nearby city Sagaing, were the worst-affected areas, with deaths and damage to critical infrastructure.
Satellite imagery showed a major bridge, which had connected Sagaing to Mandalay, collapsed and parts of the structure submerged in the Irrawaddy River.
Before: Satellite images show the bridge over the Irrawaddy River before the earthquake.. . After: After the earthquake near Mandalay. (Images: Maxar Technologies via Reuters). .
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Before and after images
SLIDEAfter the earthquake near Mandalay. (Images: Maxar Technologies via Reuters)
Satellite images show the bridge over the Irrawaddy River before the earthquake.
Satellite images show the bridge over the Irrawaddy River before the earthquake. / After the earthquake near Mandalay. (Images: Maxar Technologies via Reuters)
How many people have died?
In Myanmar, more than 1,700 people have died. While3,400 were injured and more than 300 others were missing as of Sunday, the country's military government said.
The junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned that the number of fatalities could rise.
In Bangkok, Thai authorities said at least 18 people had been killed and at least 76 people remained trapped under the debris of the collapsed Bangkok building, where rescue operations continued into a fourth day.
The US Geological Survey's predictive modelling estimated Myanmar's death toll could eventually top 10,000 and losses could exceed the country's annual economic output.
What is the situation on the ground?
The sunset can be seen over a scene of destruction with workers searching for survivors
Rescuers work are using heavy machinery to search for survivors after the Sky Villa Condo collapse in Mandalay. (AP: Thein Zaw)
Scores of people were feared to still be trapped under collapsed buildings in Mandalay and most could not be reached or pulled out, workers told Reuters.
Residents in Mandalay, and nearby Sagaing, also reported that international aid had not arrived.
Concerns are growing about a severe shortage of food, electricity and water in those areas.
A map showing the intensity of the earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28.
A map showing the intensity of the earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. (Supplied: United States Geological Survey)
"The destruction has been extensive, and humanitarian needs are growing by the hour," said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in a statement.
Public and private healthcare facilities in Mandalay were damaged by the quake, according to the World Health Organization.
Who is helping?
Emergency responders wearing helmets stand among rubble
This image released by Chinese news agency Xinhua shows Chinese rescuers searching for survivors in Mandalay. (AP/Xinhua: Myo Kyaw Soe)
India, China and Thailand have sent relief materials and teams to Myanmar, while Malaysia, Singapore and Russia have also sent aid and personnel to the country.
The United States pledged $2 million in aid. An emergency response team from USAID, which is undergoing massive cuts under the Trump administration, is deploying to Myanmar.
Australia will provide an initial $2 million through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for immediate humanitarian relief.
However, UNICEF's Sai Han Lynn Aung said more assistance was urgently needed in some areas.
"We know that this is an absolute catastrophe for children and families across Mandalay," Sai Han Lynn Aung said.
Are earthquakes common in Myanmar?
A satellite image shows a destroyed pagoda in amongst roads and houses.
A satellite image shows damage to the Mahamuni pagoda in Mandalay after the earthquake. (Reuters: Maxar Technologies)
Bordering China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Laos, Myanmar is the largest country in mainland South-East Asia by area, with a population of approximately 56.6 million people.
Myanmar lies on the boundary between two tectonic plates and is one of the world's most seismically active countries.
However, large and destructive earthquakes have been relatively rare in the Sagaing region, in north-west Myanmar.
This earthquake's epicentre was at a depth of just 10km, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Roger Musson, honorary research fellow at the British Geological Survey, told Reuters the shallow depth of the quake meant the damage would be more severe.
"The shock waves are not dissipated as they go from the focus of the earthquake up to the surface. The buildings received the full force of the shaking," Mr Musson explained.
"It's important not to be focused on epicentres because the seismic waves don't radiate out from the epicentre — they radiate out from the whole line of the fault," he added.
Why did the quake cause damage in Bangkok?
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In Bangkok, Thailand's capital, the earthquake's ripples made skyscrapers shake and turned sloshing infinity pools into waterfalls.
Australian media personality Sophie Monk was in a Bangkok high-rise hotel at the time and posted about her "heart-racing" experience on social media.
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The earthquake also damaged several buildings in Bangkok, with one under-construction skyscraper completely collapsing.
Emergency crews on Monday resumed a desperate search for 76 people believed buried under the rubble.
After nearly three days, fears were growing that the rescuers would find more dead bodies, which could sharply raise Thailand's death toll that stood at 18 on Sunday.
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Despite being some 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre in Myanmar, the nature of the ground in Bangkok contributed to the impact on the city, one expert explained.
"Even though Bangkok is far from active faults, its soft soil amplifies the shaking," said Christian Malaga-Chuquitaype, from Imperial College London's civil and environmental engineering department.
"This affects especially tall buildings during distant earthquakes."
Malaga-Chuquitaype said the construction techniques in Bangkok favouring "flat slabs" — where floors are held only by columns without using strengthening beams, like a table supported only by legs — were a "problematic design".
He said that initial video analysis of the collapsed tower block in Bangkok suggested this type of construction technique had been used.
How is the war affecting the rescue efforts?
The earthquake adds pressure on war-torn Myanmar, which has been in crisis since a military coup in 2021.
The coup came after the country held historic, openly contested general elections in 2015 and 2020, and there was a peaceful transition of power to a new government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, in February 2021, the military seized power from the country's elected government, plunging Myanmar into chaos and a civil war.
After the earthquake, Myanmar's opposition National Unity Government (NUG), which includes remnants of the previous administration, said anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military actions for two weeks from Sunday.
The announcement comes despite reports the ruling junta has continued air strikes in the wake of Friday's natural disaster.
The NUG called on the country's ethnic groups, which operate their own armies, to cooperate.
There was no immediate comment by the military on the announcement.
ABC/wires
Posted13m ago13 minutes agoMon 31 Mar 2025 at 5:23am
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