Magnitude 7.7 and 6.4 earthquakes have struck Myanmar, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), with reports of strong tremors felt in Thailand and elsewhere in the region.
The first tremor hit 16 kilometres (10 miles) northwest of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10 kilometres at about 12:50 pm local time (06:20 GMT) on Friday, USGS said.
Meanwhile, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) said the jolt measured magnitude 7.9, according to the Xinhua news agency, with a social media post by CENC saying “tremors were felt in Yunnan”.
The AFP news agency reported from Myamar’s capital Naypyidaw that roads were buckled by the force of the tremors and chunks of ceilings fell from buildings.
In neighbouring Thailand’s capital Bangkok, startled residents poured out of high-rise buildings. Witnesses there said the tremors were forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools.
“I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” Duangjai, a resident of the popular northern tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP.
There are reports of people being stuck under the rubble of a collapsed building under construction in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok.
BREAKING: Powerful earthquake causes skyscraper under construction to collapse in Bangkok, Thailand.pic.twitter.com/Sd6pMMiTLH
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Some metro and light rail services were suspended in Bangkok.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Friday she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an “urgent meeting” after a powerful earthquake, according to a post on X.
Previous quakes in Myanmar
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS.
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states.
More to come …