Violent earthquakes rock Southeast Asia, prompting evacuations in Thailand and Myanmar

“There’s no government to help us, not enough doctors to care for us,” she said. “I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. Please help.”

At least 20 people were dead in the city, the New York Times reported.

The Myanmar government said on the Telegram messaging app that it would “make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid”. But the Red Cross said downed power lines were adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.

Damage was also reported in China, with authorities there warning of the possibility of a tsunami, according to a report on state-owned CCTV. China’s Xinhua news agency said strong tremors were felt in south-western Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, but there were no reports of casualties.

‘Screaming and panic’

The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the street, leaving some of the city’s already congested streets gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway were shut down.

Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook during the quake, and debris fell from many buildings. People who had evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more quakes.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said many high-rise buildings in the capital, which is home to 17 million people, had been damaged and inspections were under way. He said public hospitals had been declared safe and patients could return. He urged people to be cautious.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake while Sittipunt was placed in charge of co-ordinating the city’s disaster response.

Scottish tourist Fraser Morton was in one of Bangkok’s many shopping centres looking for camera equipment when the earthquake hit.

“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” he said.

“I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.”

Like thousands of others in downtown Bangkok, Morton sought refuge in Benjasiri Park – away from the tall buildings all around.

“I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense,” he said. “Lots of chaos.”

Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved back and forth from the shockwaves.

She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. “In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok,” she said.

Myanmar bridge collapses, highway damaged

Myanmar is in the midst of a civil war and many areas are not easily accessible so it was not immediately clear what relief efforts the military would be able to provide.

In Mandalay, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on social media.

While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.

In the Sagaing region just south-west of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.

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In Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.

AP, Reuters, Bloomberg with Zach Hope

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