Strong earthquakes were felt in Myanmar on Friday. The magnitude of the earthquake was 7.7.
A house under construction collapsed in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, hundreds of miles away, due to the tremors. 43 workers are still trapped in it.
According to the US Geological Survey, the second tremor came just 12 minutes after the first tremor in Myanmar. The magnitude of the second earthquake was 6.4. The epicenter of this earthquake was 18 kilometers south of Sagaing.
A rescue team employee in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, told the BBC that the earthquake has caused massive destruction and hundreds of people are feared dead.
According to news agency AP, the US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ Center for Geoscience have said that the epicenter of the earthquake was in Myanmar.
According to the agency, strong tremors of earthquake were also felt in Thailand’s capital Bangkok and many buildings have been evacuated there.
The US Geological Survey has said that it was of 7.7 magnitude. China’s official news agency Xinhua has quoted China’s China Earthquake Networks Center as saying that the magnitude of the earthquake was 7.9.
An emergency has been declared in a large part of Myanmar. According to the US Geological Survey, the death toll could be in the thousands.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has expressed concern over the situation by tweeting.
He wrote on Twitter, “I am concerned about the situation after the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being. India is ready to provide all possible assistance. In this regard, we have asked our officials to be ready. Also, the Ministry of External Affairs has been asked to stay in touch with the governments of Myanmar and Thailand.”
The US Geological Survey has said that the epicenter of the earthquake was 10 kilometers below the earth.
The epicenter of the earthquake was near Mandalay City in Burma. The latest pictures show that a huge bridge built on the Irrawaddy River has collapsed. There are also reports that cracks have appeared on the roads in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw.
In Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, people are seen running away from falling buildings after the earthquake. A video shows that a high wave is rising in the water of a building’s swimming pool. The government is holding an emergency meeting.
What did the journalist present in Bangkok say
BBC journalist Bui Thu, who lives in Bangkok, told the BBC World Service’s Newsday program that she was cooking at home when the earthquake struck.
She said, “I was very nervous. I don’t know what it was because I think it’s been a decade since such a strong earthquake was felt in Bangkok.”
She said, “In my apartment, I saw cracks in some walls and water was spilling from the swimming pool, people were screaming.”
She and other people ran towards the street after the earthquake.
He said, “We are still trying to understand what is happening around us.”
“Buildings in Bangkok are not made earthquake resistant, I think that is why the damage has been more.”
How deep was the epicenter of the earthquake in the ground?
The BBC team present in Bangkok felt the buildings shaking and saw people coming out on the streets.
The BBC team said that the earthquake was very strong and that from the window, water was falling on the road from the upper floor of a skyscraper.
According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was located 16 km northwest of Sagaing City in Burma, near Mandalay City. It is located about 100 km north of the capital.
AFP journalists present in the capital said that the tremors caused roads to break, and pieces started falling from the roof.
According to China Daily, the China Earthquake Networks Center has said that the epicenter of the earthquake was 30 kilometers inside the earth.
Devastation in Bangkok
It is also being told that the strong tremors of the earthquake were felt even in Yunnan province of southwest China. In some pictures, a big bridge is seen falling into Myanmar’s main river, the Irrawaddy.
There are also reports that many roads in Naypyidaw have broken or cracked.
Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, is about 1000 kilometers away from the epicenter of Myanmar’s earthquake. However, such a strong tremor was felt here that there is news of a building under construction collapsing.
Police have said that many people are buried under the rubble here.
History of earthquakes in Myanmar
In the pictures coming from Myanmar, cracks are visible on the roads of the capital, Naypyidaw.
However, Myanmar experiences more earthquakes than Thailand.
According to the AFP news agency, a US Geological Survey report says that between 1930 and 1956, six earthquakes measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale occurred near the Sagaing Fault. This fault passes through the middle of the country.
Thailand is not an earthquake zone and all the earthquakes felt here occurred in neighboring Myanmar.
Earthquake-resistant technology is not used in the construction of buildings in Bangkok, so the damage here can be greater.
