A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Mandalay in central Myanmar on Friday, killing over a thousand people with local authorities warning the death toll is likely to rise significantly.
The tremor, which hit around midday local time, caused extensive damage across a wide area of the country, with aftershocks felt as far away as Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand.
“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s military junta government, said in a televised address.
According to Agence France-Presse, citing Myanmar’s government, the death toll has topped 1,000, with reports of many missing and approximately 1,700 people injured in the disaster. The earthquake also claimed at least 10 lives in Bangkok after a high-rise building under construction collapsed, despite being 1,330 km southeast of the epicentre.
In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, multiple buildings collapsed including one of the city’s largest monasteries. Rescue crews in the capital Naypyidaw were seen pulling victims from the rubble of buildings that housed civil servants.
The quake was followed by more than 50 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 6.4 magnitude, according to national geological agencies.
The US Geological Survey estimated that the death toll in Myanmar could exceed 10,000. Myanmar lies in an active earthquake belt, though temblors typically occur in sparsely populated areas rather than cities.
Myanmar’s government reported that blood is in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Min Aung Hlaing said the country is ready to accept foreign assistance, a significant statement in a nation where previous governments have sometimes been reluctant to accept international aid.
The United Nations has allocated $5 million (£3.9 million) to begin relief efforts. US President Donald Trump has offered American assistance, though analysts express concern about response capabilities following cuts to foreign aid programmes.
Rescue operations face significant challenges due to buckled roads, a collapsed bridge and a burst dam, compounding difficulties in a country already experiencing a humanitarian crisis amid ongoing civil war.
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