Death toll from 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar rises to 674, with 1670 injured

NAYPYIDAW(Myanmar): The Death toll from the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar has jumped to 694, and 1670 people have been injured, the country’s military junta said on Saturday, CNN reported. The figures were only for the Mandalay region in the center of the country, and near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Myanmar’s military junta said 68 people were missing in the Mandalay region. The death toll from the earthquake that struck central Myanmar could exceed 10,000, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated according to their early modeling on Friday.

The USGS issued a red alert for the estimated fatalities of the earthquake, indicating “high casualties and extensive damage.” Myanmar’s military junta has made a plea for international assistance following the massive earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday.

Tremors were felt through rural villages caught in the middle of Myanmar’s civil war, all the way to the high-rises of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok. Shaking was even felt across the border in China’s Yunnan province, CNN reported.

At least 14 aftershocks have hit Myanmar since the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday, an interactive map on the USGS website shows. The majority of the tremors that happened over several hours following the major earthquake occurred shortly after midday local time – had a magnitude of between 3 and 5. The strongest was the tremor of 6.7 magnitude that jolted about 10 minutes after the major quake.

Two earthquakes of magnitude – a 4.9 and the 6.7 – occurred about 20 miles from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, which sustained substantial damage. Others spread north and south from the main earthquake, CNN reported.

The United Nations Children’s Fund said its ground teams were preparing humanitarian support following the earthquake that hit Myanmar and rocked neighbouring Thailand.

In a post on X on Friday, UNICEF said, “UNICEF is deeply concerned about the devastating impact of today’s earthquake in Myanmar on children and families,” also mentioning damage in Thailand. The agency said its teams on the ground were assessing the impact caused by the earthquake and preparing humanitarian support.

As many as 10 people died, 16 people were injured, and 101 others were missing at three construction sites in Bangkok, including the collapse of a 30-storey government building, according to Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej, Bangkok Post reported.

Pasakorn Boonyalak, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said the earthquake caused damage in Bangkok and 10 other provinces, including Chiang Rai, Phrae, Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Chai Nat, Lamphun, Loei, Samut Sakhon, Chiang Mai, and Kamphaeng Phet.

Thailand’s Meteorological Department said on Saturday that two additional earthquakes were detected in Mae Hong Son. The earthquake of magnitude 4.1 on the Richter Scale occurred at a depth of five kilometers, in Pai district at 11:21 pm (local time), followed by a magnitude 2.0 quake at 3:24 am (local time), also in Pai.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has called for calm from the public as officials warn of possible aftershocks following an earthquake in Myanmar that shook many parts of the country, including Bangkok, on Friday, Bangkok Post reported.

Speaking after an urgent meeting in Phuket, Paetongtarn urged people to keep themselves updated with information from all relevant agencies, only to avoid misinformation and panic. She further said that state-owned broadcaster NBT has been designated as the network for official verified updates, Bangkok Post reported.

She was heading back to Bangkok on Friday to continue monitoring and overseeing the government response to the quake. The government has not yet assessed the damage from the tremor that struck several buildings in the northern, northeastern and central regions of Thailand. (ANI)