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At least 144 dead after earthquake strikes Myanmar, a country in crisis
The 7.7 quake in Myanmar hit an isolated nation already reeling from civil war. Across the border in Thailand, dozens were trapped under a collapsed building.
People stand near earthquake debris in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-most-populous city.
The Washington Post
By Rebecca Tan
Mar 29, 2025 | 991 words | ★★☆☆☆
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, killing at least 144 people, according to the country’s military junta, with deadly tremors felt hundreds of miles away in Thailand.
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The epicenter of the lunchtime quake was about 11 miles from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-most-populous city, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and multiple aftershocks were reported. Images and videos shared by residents of the centrally located city showed a collapsed bridge, cracked roads and flattened buildings.
Video from Mandalay, Myanmar, shows a destroyed temple and a collapsed bridge over the Irrawaddy River on March 28 after a strong earthquake hit the region.
In a televised address, Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military, said there had been 96 deaths in the capital, Naypyidaw, and 48 in nearby regions — a toll that could not be independently verified and was likely to rise.
There were fears that the impact could be far worse. An automated model from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a 36 percent chance that the number of deaths would exceed 100,000, with potential economic losses of tens of billions of dollars.
Traffic passes a damaged building in Mandalay.
The military has faced an intense civil war since forcibly seizing power four years ago and does not have full control over the areas affected by the quake. After declaring a state of emergency in six regions, including Naypyidaw and Mandalay, the isolated junta issued a rare appeal for international assistance.
“I would like to extend an open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country,” said Min Aung Hlaing, who has been accused of war crimes.
The National Unity Government, a parallel administration formed by pro-democracy leaders in Myanmar, said in a statement that the quake had caused “extensive damage” and also called for international support.
President Donald Trump told reporters Friday that he was aware of the requests from Myanmar’s military junta for international aid and that the U.S. government was already working on it.
“We’re going to be helping. I’ve already alerted the people,” Trump said when asked about the request. “It’s terrible what’s happened. We’ve already spoken with the country.”
The 1,000 beds at Myanmar’s largest medical facility, Mandalay General Hospital, were full by Friday afternoon, witnesses said, and teams were setting up emergency clinics to deal with the overflow.
An earthquake survivor waits to receive medical attention at a hospital in Naypyidaw, Myanmar's capital.
Su Yin Htun, 45, who has family in Mandalay, said bridges, condominiums and hotels were damaged, with fires reported across the city. Flights were suspended from Mandalay International Airport, which was shut down after the quake, said Su.
Hnin, 25, a Mandalay resident who gave only one name out of fear of retaliation, said over the phone that a friend who was a patient at Kyal Sin Lin Hospital was evacuated when cracks began to form on the hospital walls. “People are scared to go back inside their houses,” she said. Her cousin was riding a motorcycle when the quake hit and was killed after slipping in front of a truck, Hnin said.
“This powerful quake struck a country already in crisis, with 19.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance,” Arif Noor, Myanmar country director for the international aid group CARE, said in a statement Friday. (The country has a population of about 54 million.)
Thai rescue teams provide aid after the collapse of a building under construction in Bangkok, which felt strong tremors from the Myanmar quake.
Tremors from the quake were felt in Yunnan, a Chinese province that borders Myanmar, and in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, more than 600 miles away. Authorities in Bangkok said a 30-story building that was under construction collapsed during the earthquake, killing at least three people and leaving 80 trapped. Most of the construction workers were migrants from Myanmar, according to survivors.
A high-rise building under construction in Bangkok collapsed after a strong earthquake on March 28 rocked Thailand and Myanmar.
Aung Thiha, a 24-year-old worker from Myanmar, said that when the building began to shake, he felt dizzy but thought it was from lack of sleep.
“Gradually, I noticed dust and sand started to fall from the ceiling,” he recounted. As a construction crane fell and struck the center of the building, he ran outside, watching in horror as each floor was split in half. The entire structure was flattened within a minute, he said.
Aung Thiha, a construction worker from Myanmar, survived the Bangkok building collapse.
Aung Thiha, wearing a yellow hard hat and blue uniform, said the scores still missing include his brother and brother-in-law, who he feared were stuck beneath the rubble. His brother and his wife are expecting a child soon. Rescue efforts were underway at the scene, but there were few updates by late Friday.
“I feel really, really bad,” Aung Thiha said.
Though cracks were reported in other structures, there were no other collapses, Bangkok’s governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, told The Washington Post.
“Bangkok has seen nothing like this in 100 years,” said Phumtham Wechayachai, Thailand’s deputy prime minister.
A construction worker reacts after the tremors in Bangkok.
Authorities in Bangkok suspended school and ordered businesses and tenants in high-rises near the affected area to evacuate. By late Friday, residents were told they could return to their homes.
In Myanmar, already in the grip of multiple humanitarian crises, the destruction was far more widespread and the rescue efforts far more difficult. The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2021, when the military ousted a democratically elected government and forcibly crushed peaceful protests, sparking an armed resistance.
The public health system has collapsed in some parts of the country because government doctors and nurses have refused to worked for the junta, in some instances decamping for rebel-controlled territories along the Thai border.
Aid distribution has been significantly impaired by the fighting and the military’s restrictions on movement. The country’s northwest has, for years, been virtually inaccessible to international aid agencies, watchdog groups and journalists.
A Myanmar police officer uses a flashlight to examine a damaged building in Naypyidaw.
In a recent report, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Mandalay and its surrounding regions have become “the epicenter of internal displacement,” hosting more than a million people forced from their homes.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday that downed power lines and network outages were making it difficult to assess the scale of the tragedy.
“This disaster has only worsened an already fragile situation,” said Noor, adding that “CARE and our partners are urgently assessing the damage and preparing to support affected communities.”
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