A crowd of people evacuated from a shopping mall in Bangkok due to the earthquake.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar, near the city of Mandalay, could have killed up to 100,000 people, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
The institution has forecasted that losses after the 28 March earthquake could range from 10,000 to 100,000 fatalities.
A 6.4 aftershock in Bangkok
The earthquake with tremors was felt as far as Bangkok, Thailand, a major and popular tourist spot. According to the USGS, a 6.4 magnitude aftershock was felt in Bangkok roughly 12 minutes after the initial quake.
The earthquake caused a 30-story skyscraper in Bangkok to collapse, killing at least two people and trapping at least 43 others. Survivors have been heard calling for help from beneath the rubble.
The Thai Prime Minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, interrupted an official visit to Phuket to hold an urgent meeting in response to the earthquake. She declared Bangkok an “emergency zone” and advised residents to evacuate tall buildings due to the threat of aftershocks.
Chaotic scenes
Social media footage has shown water spilling out of swimming pools in the Thai capital. Witnesses in the city described chaotic scenes with collapsed buildings and debris scattered across the streets.
One resident of Chiang Mai, a town in northern Thailand, recalled: “I heard it, and I was sleeping in the house. I ran as far as I could in my pajamas out of the building.” Others, including many hotel guests, fled into the streets in bathrobes and swimsuits.
Tremors were also reportedly felt in China’s southwest Yunnan province, where the earthquake measured 7.9 in magnitude, according to Beijing’s quake agency.
Myanmar needs urgent help
In Myanmar, injured victims are being treated outside hospitals in Naypyidaw, the capital. The city’s hospital, with a capacity of just 1,000 beds, has been severely damaged, with one car crushed under the collapsed entrance. A doctor at the hospital said, “Many injured people have been arriving; I haven’t seen anything like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted.”
Reports indicate that at least ten worshippers perished in a mosque in Mandalay, and over 20 children are feared trapped in a destroyed school in the central city of Taungoo.
Myanmar’s government has requested international aid. Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing visited a hospital in Naypyidaw to assess the situation, urging the global community to provide humanitarian assistance.
Countries at risk
The USGS highlighted that buildings in both Myanmar and Thailand are particularly vulnerable to the earthquake’s effects, with many structures, including informal and unreinforced brick constructions, not designed to withstand significant tremors.
Earthquakes are common in Myanmar, with a powerful 6.8-magnitude quake in 2016 causing deaths and extensive damage in the ancient city of Bagan, a popular tourist site.
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