(March 29): Myanmar’s death toll from Friday’s powerful earthquake passed 1,000, amid extensive damage in the country's second-largest city of Mandalay, as international rescue teams arrived to help search for survivors.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, its biggest in a century, also injured more than 2,300 people, while 30 were missing, according to the State Administration Council. Authorities said about 2,300 buildings, including homes and temples, collapsed in Mandalay. 

Teams from China, India and Russia were among those who arrived with professional rescuers, medical personnel and equipment, and were heading to Mandalay and the administrative capital of Naypyidaw, they said. International airports in the two cities were closed until further notice. 

Countries including the US have pledged to send rescue teams and emergency aid, following the junta’s rare request for international aid. 

“It was a nightmare. I am still scared,” said Kyaw Moe Aung, who witnessed the collapse of a condominium in Mandalay’s Aungmyaythazan township where he lived. “Hundreds of buildings collapsed here and there”, and “there were several aftershocks until late at night”, he said.

Most telephone lines were down due to a day-long power outage in major cities, and residents in the commercial capital of Yangon were limited to a maximum of four hours of electricity a day, according to the Electricity Supply Corporation. 

More than 600 monasteries and nearly 300 pagodas in Mandalay were wrecked, as well as 60 schools and three bridges in the region. The quake also damaged some parts of the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, and some dams in Upper Myanmar. 

In neighbouring Thailand, rescuers were still searching for dozens of people missing from a collapsed high-rise building in Bangkok. An investigation was underway into the 30-storey building that was under construction, and officials will report their findings within a week, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.

Authorities in Bangkok said nine people were killed, and about 100 were missing. Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said 57 of 77 provinces in the country felt the tremors, while damage has been reported in 13 of them.

The government has declared the quake a Level 3 disaster, categorised as major, and is coordinating rescue and relief operations accordingly. 

Bangkok city authorities have also ordered safety audits of public and government buildings, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said. Three hospitals in Bangkok were inspected on Friday night, and one of them, Ratwithi Hospital, was instructed not to use the building due to damage from the earthquake, according to authorities. 

There have been 6,000 reported cases of cracks in buildings across the capital, Chadchart said. Two cases involving residential buildings are considered critical, and tenants have been informed about safety measures, he said.

Authorities in the Thai capital also opened 11 temporary shelters to accommodate people affected by the quake. The government will provide assistance and financial relief to those affected, Paetongtarn said after a meeting on Saturday.

Some rail services operated by the Bangkok Expressway and Metro remained closed on Saturday to ensure safety before resuming service, according to local broadcaster PPTV.

Thailand’s stock and futures exchanges halted trading on Friday, because of evacuations triggered by the earthquake. The stock exchange said all activities at its headquarters will be halted through Tuesday, though it was not immediately clear if it means exchanges won’t resume trading.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said businesses had resumed operations, and tourist attractions, as well as various convention centres, were open as usual. However, periodic assessments will continue to be conducted to ensure maximum safety, it said in a post on X.

Siam Piwat, the owner and operator of several shopping malls in downtown Bangkok, said its buildings are structurally safe and resumed operations on Saturday, according to a statement posted on Facebook.

Thailand is also a major manufacturing hub, but firms like Samsung Electronics Co said there was no disruption to their operations there.

Read also:
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Myanmar hit by fresh 5.1 aftershock, tremors felt in neighbouring countries
MetMalaysia can issue quake warnings within eight minutes, says DG

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