A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said, damaging buildings there and shaking cities across a vast expanse of Southeast Asia, as far as Bangkok, in neighboring Thailand.
The quake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city of more than a million people, around 12:50 p.m. local time the agency said. An aftershock of magnitude 6.4 was recorded 12 minutes later at a nearby location.
A magnitude of 7.7 is considered to be strong. At a depth of about six miles, the quake was relatively shallow, which made it likely to cause violent shaking.
After the tremor in Mandalay, people were rushed to the main hospital. Images taken in that city that were posted on social media showed a bridge that had crashed into a river. Others showed damaged buildings.
Details about the extent of the damage and casualties in Myanmar were not immediately available. The nation has been ravaged by a civil war that began after the military seized power in a coup four years ago.
Video from Bangkok showed people in panic in the streets and inside buildings like shopping centers.
In central Bangkok, the streets were full of people who were afraid of aftershocks or were not allowed back into their buildings. Traffic was at a virtual standstill.
Videos uploaded to social media and verified by The New York Times showed the collapse of a 30-story skyscraper that was under construction in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok. The videos showed construction workers and passers-by running for safety, while other videos filmed from an elevated highway showed large clouds of dust and debris engulfing the surrounding area. Thai media reports described the building as the new Office of the Auditor General.
The shaking was also felt west of Myanmar in Bangladesh, including in its capital, Dhaka, but there were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake also shook buildings in Vietnam, including Hanoi, the capital, and Ho Chi Minh City, the state-run news outlet VnExpress reported.
Saif Hasnat contributed reporting from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Richard C. Paddock in Bangkok.
