Live Updates: Strong Earthquake Strikes Myanmar
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. Rescue teams on Friday at a construction site in Bangkok, where a building collapsed. Credit... Lillian Suwanrumpha/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
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.
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Thailand sets up safe spaces for pets whose owners fled border violence
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Its distance from the border does not keep it protected from artillery and aerial attacks, but it nonetheless is considered a relatively safe place. Most Cambodians and Thais are Buddhists. Nine monks from other temples that felt more insecure are also staying at Wat Prasat Samrong Thom. In the Buddhist tradition, temples are community centers and almost always places of sanctuary, and on Thursday, several displaced villagers stopped by briefly on their way to a government-arranged safety zone. Tho Thoross provided them with food. He said the latest fighting is '10 times bigger' than prolonged clashes over similar issues in 2008 and 2011, when the clashes were confined to certain areas. 'But today, the fighting is happening everywhere along the border.' said Tho Thoross, who has lived in Oddar Meanchey for nearly three decades. 'As a Buddhist monk living in a province bordering Thailand, I would like to call on both sides to work together to find a solution that is a win-win solution for all,' he declared Saturday. _____
