Many Feared Dead As Earthquake Strikes Myanmar, Tremor Felt In Thailand

The US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, causing roads in the capital Naypyidaw to buckle and sending shockwaves through China and Thailand.

The tremor’s epicentre was located 16 kilometres (10 miles) northwest of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10 kilometres around 12:50 pm local time (0620 GMT), the USGS said.

Some metro and light rail services were suspended in Bangkok.

AFP journalists in Naypyidaw said roads were buckled by the force of the tremors and chunks of ceilings fell from buildings.

Tremors were also felt through northern Thailand and down to the capital, Bangkok, where residents ran into the streets as buildings shook.

“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.

Tremors were also felt in China’s southwest Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.

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 center 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.