Strong Earthquake Of 7.2 Magnitude Hits Myanmar
CATASTROPHETHAILAND. DW News
Major earthquake hits Myanmar, felt in Bangkok
Rana Taha with AFP, Reuters, AP2 hours ago2 hours ago
Tremors swayed buildings in the central business area of the Thai capital, where a 30-storey skyscraper has collapsed. The epicenter of the earthquake was in Myanmar, where the powerful tremors were also felt.
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A major earthquake was felt by residents in the Thai capital, Bangkok, on Friday, with a skyscraper under construction collapsing and trapping at least 43 workers.
Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the epicenter of the earthquake was in neighboring Myanmar, citing preliminary reports. It was recorded at a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a 7.7 magnitude, with an aftershock of a 6.4 magnitude following closely behind.
The Thai Prime Minister declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.
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What else do we know about the earthquake?
Witnesses said people ran out into the streets of Bangkok after feeling the powerful tremors. Water splashed out of swimming pools, witnesses added.
A highrise building under construction collapsed in Bangkok due to the earthquake, police told the Associated Press news agency. The French AFP news agency cited medics as saying 43 workers were trapped.
The 30-storey skyscraper was a government offices work in progress in the north of the Thai capital, AFP added.
“When I arrived to inspect the site, I heard people calling for help, saying help me,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP. “We estimate that hundreds of people are injured but we are still determining the number of casualties,” he said.
Some metro and light rail lines were suspended as a result of the quake.
“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, told AFP after tremors were felt across northern and central Thailand.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an “urgent meeting.”
Thailand’s stock exchange announced coming to a full halt after the quake.
Where else were the tremors felt?
The earthquake’s epicenter was located 16 kilometers northwest of the city of Sagaing in Myanmar at around 12:50 p.m. local time (0620 GMT/UTC), the USGS said.
An AFP journalist in the city of Naypyidaw, south of Sagaing, said roads were buckled by the force of the earthquake, with chunks of ceilings fallen from buildings.
“We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet,” an officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told the Reuters news agency. Yangon lies some 620 kilometers south of Sagaing.
Unverified social media posts also showed damage in Mandalay, Myanmar’s ancient royal capital that is at the center of its Buddhist heartland.
“We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking,” a witness in the city told Reuters. “I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings.”
Apart from Thailand, the tremors were also felt in China’s southwest Yunnan province. Beijing’s quake agency measured the jolt at 7.9 in magnitude.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it was closely following reports on the tremors.
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country was on standby to offer help to Myanmar and Thailand.
This is a developing news story. Please refresh for updates.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
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A Buddhist monk walks near a damaged building at a monastery compound after an earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photograph: Aung Shine Oo/APhttps://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/719c4a4f8feea472a4490cf018a6742aec6a537b/0_0_5245_3147/master/5245.jpg?width=1140&dpr=2&s=none&crop=none
Strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Myanmar, with tremors felt in neighbouring Thailand
Witnesses in Bangkok more than 1,000km away said people ran out onto the streets in panic
Staff and agenciesFri 28 Mar 2025 07.15 GMTShare
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.
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.
*This is a developing story, please check back for updates
MYANMAR
Strong earthquakes strike Myanmar, tremors felt across Southeast Asia
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Sagaing, Myanmar, on 28 March, 2025, followed by a magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The tremors were felt as far as Bangkok, with damage reported in Myanmar and widespread regional alarm.
Published
on 28 March 2025
A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 struck Myanmar on 28 March, 2025, followed closely by a magnitude 6.4 aftershock, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The initial tremor was recorded at 12:50 pm local time (06:20 GMT).
The epicentre of the primary earthquake was located 16 kilometres northwest of Sagaing city, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. Such shallow depths are often associated with more intense surface shaking and a higher potential for damage.
The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), as reported by Xinhua news agency, recorded the tremor as magnitude 7.9. CENC confirmed that tremors were felt in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which borders Myanmar.
In Myanmar, structural damage was immediately apparent. According to AFP reporters in the capital Naypyidaw, roads were buckled by the force of the seismic waves, and chunks of ceilings collapsed inside buildings, highlighting the quake’s destructive potential.
Across the border in Thailand, panic ensued in major urban centres. In Bangkok, residents of high-rise buildings evacuated as the tremors were felt for an extended period. Eyewitnesses described how water spilled from rooftop pools, illustrating the tremors’ strength even hundreds of kilometres away from the epicentre.
As of now, no official casualty figures have been released by Myanmar’s authorities. Emergency response teams have been mobilised to assess structural damage and potential injuries in the affected areas.
The seismic event triggered alerts across Southeast Asia, with regional authorities monitoring for aftershocks or secondary hazards, such as landslides in mountainous terrain or structural collapses in vulnerable urban zones.
Earthquakes are not uncommon in Myanmar, which lies near the boundary of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The country is part of a seismically active region, known as the Sunda megathrust, that has historically experienced damaging earthquakes.
Previous quakes in the area, such as the magnitude 6.8 event in central Myanmar in 2016 that damaged ancient temples in Bagan, serve as a reminder of the ongoing risk in the region. However, Friday’s magnitude 7.7 quake is one of the strongest in recent years.
There has been no immediate tsunami warning issued, as the earthquake occurred inland. Nevertheless, regional alert systems remain active in case of further seismic activity that could impact coastal zones.
In neighbouring China, local authorities in Yunnan reported that buildings swayed but no immediate damage or injuries were reported. The government has advised residents to remain alert as aftershocks could follow.
Thailand’s Meteorological Department confirmed the tremors were not unusual given the region’s geological context. However, they advised buildings be inspected for possible structural damage, particularly high-rise developments in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
BANGKOK – A powerful earthquake rocked central Myanmar on March 28, buckling roads in its capital Naypyitaw, damaging buildings and forcing people to flee into the streets in neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam.
The 7.7-magnitude tremor hit north-west of the city of Sagaing at a shallow depth, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.
A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area minutes later.
“I heard it, and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” said Mr Duangjai, a resident of the popular northern Thailand tourist city of Chiang Mai.
Chunks of ceilings fell from buildings and roads buckled in the Myanmar capital, a sprawling, purpose-built city with highways up to 20 lanes wide.
A team of journalists were at the National Museum in Naypyitaw when the earthquake struck and the building began shaking.
People gathered outside an office building in Bangkok on March 28 after an earthquake. PHOTO: AFP
Pieces fell from the ceiling and walls cracked as uniformed staff ran outside, some of them trembling and tearful, others grabbing cellphones to try to contact loved ones.
The ground vibrated violently for around half a minute before settling.
Social media posts from Mandalay, Myanmar’s ancient royal capital that is at the centre of its Buddhist heartland, showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets of the city.
One witness in the city told Reuters: “We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking. I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings.”
There were no immediate reports of casualties after the quakes, but they caused panic in nearby cities in northern Thailand and down to capital Bangkok.
Rescue teams arrive at a construction site where a building collapsed in Bangkok on March 28. PHOTO: AFP
Mr Sai, a 76-year-old Chiang Mai resident, was working at a minimart when the shop started to shake.
“I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers,” he said.
“This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”
Buildings damaged
The quake damaged buildings in Bangkok and forced the suspension of some metro and light rail services in the city.
One office tower swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a building collapse in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.
A collapsed building after a strong earthquake in Myanmar caused tremors in Bangkok on March 28. PHOTO: REUTERS
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an “urgent meeting” after the quake, according to a post on X.
She later declared a “state of emergency” in Bangkok and advised people to evacuate tall buildings due to possible aftershocks.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended all trading activities for the afternoon session.
In Hanoi, hundreds of people rushed out of high-rise buildings after feeling the tremors.
“The chandeliers were swinging strongly,” said Ms Vy Nguyen, who works in an office building in central Ho Chi Minh City. She said it sounded as though the windows were cracking.
“One of my guests crawled under the table, while I remained standing. I am still feeling dizzy now,” she said.
Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.
A damaged road in Naypyitaw after an earthquake in central Myanmar on March 28. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7 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.
Motorists picking up pieces of a damaged road in Naypyitaw after an earthquake in central Myanmar on March 28. PHOTO: AFP
The breakneck pace of development in Myanmar’s cities, combined with crumbling infrastructure and poor urban planning, has also made the country’s most populous areas vulnerable to earthquakes and other disasters, experts say.
The impoverished South-east Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. AFP, REUTERS
- Are you affected by the situation in Thailand or Myanmar? Get in touch with us at stnewsdesk@sph.com.sg
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PUBLISHED : 28 MAR 2025 AT 13:59
WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS
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People are evacuated from Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, after the eathquake in Myanmar is felt in Bangkok on Friday. (Photo: Wichan Choroenkiatpakul)
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday afternoon, with tremors felt in Bangkok.
The Earthquake Observation Division reported that the quake, with a depth of 10 kilometres, occurred at 1.20pm in Mandalay, Myanmar.
The Meteorological Department said the tremors were felt in many parts of Thailand, including Bangkok.
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People in the capital evacuated buildings, as businesses announced temporary closures due to the quake.
A high-rise building under construction in Chatuchak district also collapsed due to the quake.
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Authorities are assessing the damage and monitoring for aftershocks.
A high-rise building under construction in Chatuchak district collapsed due to the quake. Authorities are assessing the damage and monitoring for aftershocks.
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