Thousands are feared dead after a huge earthquake hit Thailand and Myanmar this morning, destroying buildings and sparking fears that dams could still collapse, leading to catastrophic flooding.
The US Geological Survey forecast likely losses of between 10,000 and 100,000 just after the 7.7 magnitude quake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city.
The tremor hit at a shallow 6.2 miles below the surface, before a second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later, the USGS and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said.
The force of the tremors caused a mosque in the city of Mandalay, close to the epicentre of the quake, to collapse, with at least ten worshippers said to have been killed.
Officials at a major hospital in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw have declared it a ‘mass casualty area’, with the death toll in the country expected to rise after buildings.
Large parts of neighbouring Thailand also felt the quake, with a state of emergency declared in the country’s capital, which is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments. toppled and debris was sent flying.
Shocking video has shown the moment workers fled as a building under construction collapsed as it was shaken by the force of the quake.
At least three people have been killed and dozens of workers rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper, Thai authorities said. Thailand’s defence minister said 90 are still missing at the site, with rescue efforts ongoing.
Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm local time, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise buildings and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.
They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.
