Witnesses in Bangkok more than 1,000km away said people ran out onto the streets in panic
An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 has struck Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, causing hundreds of people to pour out of swaying buildings in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand 1,400km away.
USGS said the quake on Friday was shallow, at a depth of just 10km (six miles) with the epicentre near the central city of Mandalay, about 50km (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa.
Photos source: Reuters
There were no immediate reports of damage from the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in a state of chaos after a coup in 2021.
Startled residents in densely populated central Bangkok poured out of high-rise condominiums and hotels. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor 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 popular tourist city Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, told AFP.
Witnesses say multiple buildings collapsed in Mandalay
Three residents of Mandalay, one of Myanmar’s largest cities, told Reuters they saw multiple buildings collapsing as scores ran out on to the streets when the quake hit.
Faiz, who gave only one name, said he was praying at a mosque when the quake hit.
“It started shaking as I was cleaning my hands to pray. We all run out of the mosque,” he told Reuters.
Another resident Htet Naing Oo said a tea shop on her street collapsed, trapping people inside. “We couldn’t go in,” she said, “The situation is very bad.”
Also read: The moment the earthquake strikes Tibet
Source: The Guardian / Reuters
