Bangkok declared ‘emergency zone’ as powerful 7.7-magnitude quake hits Myanmar

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit the heart of war-ravaged Myanmar on Friday, triggering the collapse of buildings hundreds of miles away in Thailand, where authorities declared an “emergency zone” in the capital Bangkok.

The earthquake cut through a vast and varied corner of Southeast Asia, sending terrifying tremors through rural villages caught in the middle of Myanmar’s civil war all the way to the glitzy high-rises of traffic-filled Bangkok. Shaking was even felt across the border in China’s southwestern remote and mountainous Yunnan province.

Rescue officials are now scrambling to respond to a disaster in countries with very different resources.

Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest nations, that has spent much of its recent history under military rule, has a long and troubled track record of struggling to respond to major natural disasters.

In contrast, neighboring Thailand is far more prosperous and a major tourist destination, with well-resourced and experienced rescue teams.

Video posted online showed panicked residents across Myanmar and Thailand running from swaying residential towers as dust fills the air, and traffic comes to a sudden stop on busy city streets.

Myanmar’s military junta declared an “emergency situation” across much of the center of the country, including in the second most populous city Mandalay and the military-built capital of Naypyidaw.

Thailand’s prime minister also declared an “emergency zone” in Bangkok after the quake triggered the collapse of an under-construction high-rise building, killing at least one person and injuring 50 others.

Authorities are racing to rescue dozens of others believed to be trapped under the rubble, Bangkok’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) said, as the regional governor warned people to be cautious after many high-rise buildings were damaged.

Myanmar is already reeling from more than four years of civil war sparked by a bloody and economically destructive military coup, which has seen junta forces battle rebel groups across the country. The coup and ensuing conflict has battered its health infrastructure, leaving it ill-equipped to deal with major natural disasters.

Swathes of the country lie outside the control of the junta and are a run by a patchwork of ethnic rebels and militias, making compiling reliable information extremely difficult.

A resident of Mandalay told CNN they weren’t sure they would survive the quake.

“The quake was very powerful, we could not run out of the building immediately,” Tun Kyaw, 26, told CNN, asking to use a pseudonym.

“So we hid under desks for like three minutes of the quake.”

“It was like the whole building was going to collapse. I was not sure I would get out alive.”

Christina Powell, from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said: “We are gathering information about the people impacted, infrastructure damage, and immediate humanitarian needs to guide a response and will share more updates as information becomes available.”

The quake hit around 12:50 p.m. local time close to Mandalay, the former royal capital that is home to about 1.5 million people and boasts a host of historic temple complexes and palaces. Several aftershocks have since struck nearby, including one of 6.4-magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The epicenter was recorded in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region, which has been ravaged by the civil war, with the junta, pro-military militia and rebel groups battling for control and all running checkpoints, making travel by road or river extremely difficult.

Sagaing is largely rural with dwellings mostly built with wood and thatch. Communications in the area are typically patchy due to intermittent fighting between the junta and rebel groups.

There was no immediate word from Myanmar authorities about the extent of the damage.

In the town of Taungoo, 70 miles south of the capital Naypyidaw, three people were killed after a mosque partially collapsed, Reuters reported, as authorities launch rescue efforts. (CNN)