‘Screaming and panic’
Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings. People in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more quakes. Bangkok’s BTS skytrain suspended services, while the stock and futures exchanges halted trading.
Bangkok’s governor said many high-rise buildings in the capital had been damaged and inspections were under way. He urged people to be cautious.
“All of a sudden the whole building began to move, immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok’s many malls shopping for camera equipment.
Thai rescue workers arrive on the scene of the collapsed building in Bangkok.Credit: AP
“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.”
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.
Rescuers tend to injured from the high-rise building collapse.Credit: AP
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.
Damaged pagodas are seen in Naypyitaw, Myanmar after the earthquake.Credit: AP
Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.
In Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.
An officer from the Myanmar Fire Services Department told Reuters: “We have started the search and going around Yangon to check for casualties and damage. So far, we have no information yet.”
In Bangkok, alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1.30pm, and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels, many of them hotel guests in bathrobes and swimming costumes.
People in Bangkok left their homes and congregated on the streets after the earthquake.Credit: dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
One office tower in downtown Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, with doors and windows creaking loudly, witnesses said.
The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.
Outside, hundreds gathered in the afternoon sun, while staff with medical kits found office chairs for elderly and people in shock.
“I have experienced earthquakes twice before in Myanmar, but that was only one second, one big bang, but here it went on for at least, I’d say, a minute,” said Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs, a Hungarian resident of Bangkok, who had just finished eating at a restaurant when the quake hit.
“My husband was in a high-rise, I think that’s even worse.”
Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.
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.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg