Sunday | March 30, 2025
Rescuers are desperately searching for survivors more than two days after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, toppling buildings as far away as the Thai capital Bangkok and sending tremors through nearby Chinese provinces.
At least 1,700 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar following the country’s strongest earthquake in over a century, authorities report. Experts warn that the true death toll may take weeks to become clear.
The massive quake caused widespread destruction, toppling bridges and buildings—including in Bangkok, where rescue teams are working to free dozens feared trapped beneath the rubble of an unfinished high-rise.
The epicenter was in Myanmar’s central Sagaing region, near Mandalay, a city of 1.5 million people known for its historic temples and palaces. Many in the affected area remain isolated after the collapse of a key bridge over the Irrawaddy River, local officials say.
Meanwhile, foreign aid and international rescue teams have begun arriving after Myanmar’s military government made a rare appeal for assistance.
Friday’s disaster is the deadliest to strike Myanmar in years, compounding the country’s struggles amid a civil war that has, since 2021, devastated communication networks, weakened healthcare systems, and left millions without sufficient food or shelter.
Massive human toll
At least 1,700 people have died, and approximately 3,400 others have been injured following Myanmar’s most powerful earthquake in over a century, according to the country’s military government. Nearly 300 people remain missing, and officials expect the toll to rise. Early modeling by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) suggests the final death count could exceed 10,000.
In Bangkok, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, at least 17 people lost their lives. Ten of them were killed when an under-construction building collapsed within minutes, trapping dozens beneath the rubble. Seven more fatalities were reported elsewhere in the capital.
Rescue efforts are still underway in Bangkok, where at least 80 people remain missing. Families have gathered at the site of the collapsed high-rise, anxiously awaiting updates on their loved ones.
Bangkok authorities have received around 9,500 reports of building damage, though apart from the collapsed tower, widespread devastation has been limited.
The earthquake is the strongest to hit Myanmar since a 7.9-magnitude quake struck Taunggyi, another central city, in 1912. Aftershocks have continued throughout the weekend, with the largest—a 6.7-magnitude tremor—recorded on Friday, according to the USGS.
Widespread devastation
Testimonies and satellite images have begun to reveal the extent of devastation in Myanmar, as survivors recall the horrifying moments when friends and loved ones were buried under rubble.
“It hit very strong and very fast,” said a woman from Mandalay, describing how part of a collapsing wall trapped her grandmother’s legs beneath debris. A former lawyer in the city told CNN that three of his wife’s family members were killed, and their bodies have yet to be recovered.
The quake also struck religious sites at a devastating moment. A witness reported that several mosques, filled with worshippers attending Friday prayers, were severely damaged.
Since the earthquake, communication with affected areas, including Mandalay, has been difficult, making it hard to assess the full scale of the destruction. In the south, Nyaungshwe, Kalaw, and Pinlaung are among the hardest-hit townships, according to the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“Thousands of people are spending the nights on the streets or in open spaces due to the damage to homes or fear of further quakes,” OCHA reported.
In Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s military capital, a three-story hospital partially collapsed, trapping patients inside. Forty hours after the quake, a Chinese rescue team pulled one survivor from the debris, according to Chinese state media.
As of Sunday, reports indicate that nearly 1,700 houses, 670 monasteries, 60 schools, and three bridges have been damaged. Concerns are also growing over the structural integrity of large dams, OCHA warned, noting damage to hospitals, major bridges, universities, and historic buildings.
Before-and-after satellite images from Maxar Technologies highlight the extent of the destruction. Numerous monasteries, temples, and pagodas across Mandalay and Sagaing have suffered severe structural damage.
The Sagaing Bridge, a key crossing over the Irrawaddy River that connected Sagaing and Mandalay, has been completely destroyed, with most of its sections either fully or partially collapsed into the water.
“About 80% of the area has been destroyed, and many bodies have yet to be recovered,” said Po Po, a teacher in Sagaing City.
“The old Sagaing bridge is gone, and the new one is no longer usable, making it difficult for aid to reach us. With much of Mandalay also in ruins, we are in a situation where we have to rely on ourselves,” she added.
By Sunday, rescue teams had pulled 36 survivors from collapsed buildings across the region. However, many bodies remain trapped beneath the rubble.
“Unburied corpses are spreading a foul odor, posing serious health risks,” the Sagaing Federal Unit Hluttaw, an anti-regime authority, stated.
Foreign aid deployed
Several countries have mobilized resources to aid Myanmar’s rescue and relief operations after the country’s military leadership—typically resistant to foreign intervention—issued a rare plea for help.
China was the first to respond, sending a team that arrived in Yangon on Saturday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Beijing has pledged $13.8 million in humanitarian aid. Russia quickly followed, deploying specialists including search-and-rescue dog teams, anesthesiologists, and psychologists, its Emergencies Ministry reported.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia have pledged a combined $20 million in humanitarian assistance.
U.S. President Donald Trump called the earthquake “terrible” and confirmed that the U.S. would also provide aid. Meanwhile, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong have announced plans to send support.
The United Nations has pledged an initial $5 million in aid and is mobilizing emergency teams to assist in relief efforts.
However, rescue operations face significant challenges due to infrastructure weakened by years of civil war, which the quake has further damaged. The affected areas include regions of intense conflict since the military seized power in 2021, where rival authorities—the junta and rebel groups—operate separately, complicating aid distribution.
Relief efforts are being hampered by destroyed roads, widespread rubble, and communication blackouts, according to the UN. Myanmar’s fragile healthcare system, already strained by war, is struggling to manage the overwhelming number of injured survivors.
Severe shortages of essential medical supplies—such as trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, and assistive devices—are worsening the crisis, OCHA reported. Health workers on the ground are struggling to treat the influx of wounded as the scale of the disaster continues to unfold.
Why was this earthquake so destructive?
Myanmar sits on an active earthquake belt, but most tremors typically strike sparsely populated areas rather than major cities like those devastated on Friday.
According to the USGS and Germany’s GFZ Center for Geosciences, the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep—shallow quakes tend to cause more destruction.
A geologist told CNN that the energy released was equivalent to 334 atomic bombs and warned that aftershocks could continue for months.
Scientists say the quake occurred along the Sagaing Fault, a major north-south fault line in Myanmar. It was classified as a “strike-slip” event, meaning two tectonic plates shifted primarily in a horizontal direction.
Brian Baptie, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, said the rupture displaced the earth by five meters (16.4 feet) in some areas within about a minute.
Many buildings in the affected region are constructed from timber or unreinforced brick masonry, making them particularly vulnerable to seismic damage, Baptie noted.