Junta declares state of emergency after powerful earthquake hits war-torn Myanmar

Updated on March 28, 2025 at 7:50 a.m. ET

BANGKOK – Rescuers scrambled to save people buried underneath collapsed buildings following a powerful earthquake Friday in Myanmar that reverberated across Southeast Asia and also caused deaths and damage in the Thai capital.

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles) was centered near Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was followed minutes later by an aftershock of 6.4 magnitude.

Myanmar’s ruling junta declared a state of emergency in the affected regions. Residents told Radio Free Asia that aid and other organizations were mounting rescue efforts.

One rescue worker said a six-floor hotel in Shan State’s Aungpan town collapsed, trapping staff and guests in the rubble.

“The body of a staff member has been recovered, and we were able to rescue 16 people from the rubble,” said a representative of the Myat Youth Association assisting in the recovery, identifying the victim as a 20-year-old woman.

The injured were sent to Aungpan Hospital, he said.

“There are cracked and collapsed homes because of the earthquake. The worst is the collapsed hotel in Aungpan – the guests are completely trapped,” the aid worker said. “As for the trapped and those sent off [to the hospital], we don’t have an exact list yet.”

Myanmar’s junta said six major areas of the country have suffered damage from the quake – Shan state, Mandalay, Sagaing, Bago, Magway and the administrative capital of Naypyidaw.

“The state will make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid,” the junta said in a statement.

Social media posts from Mandalay showed collapsed buildings and debris strewn across streets. One resident confirmed with RFA that the city’s iconic Ava bridge had collapsed.

The AFP news agency reported from Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw that roads were buckled by the force of the tremors and chunks of ceilings fell from buildings.

Witnesses in neighbouring Thailand’s capital Bangkok said people ran out onto the streets in panic and water surged out of swimming pools in high-rise condos, dousing the streets below.

At least 43 workers were trapped in the rubble of an under-construction office tower in Bangkok, including migrant workers from Myanmar, according to media reports.

The governor of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said at least three people have been confirmed dead.

Some metro and light rail services reportedly were suspended. Major roads were jammed as people tried to leave the city center.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Friday she had interrupted an official visit to the southern island of Phuket to hold an “urgent meeting” after the earthquake, according to a post on X.

(Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

China Earthquake Networks Center said that tremors were felt in the Chinese city of Yunnan.

The Chinese foreign ministry said it was “closely following” reports.

Myanmar is prone to earthquakes, with six significant tremors of 7.0 magnitude or higher hitting the area between 1930 and 1956 along the Sagaing Fault, which stretches north to south through the center of the country, according to the USGS.

In 2016, a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the ancient capital of Bagan in central Myanmar, killing three people and causing spires to collapse and temple walls to crumble at the popular tourist site.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Stephen Wright.

Updated to include information on casualties and damages in Myanmar.