Collapsed buildings in Mandalay Region, central Myanmar, reveals the devastating impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck at 1:00 PM on 28 March 2025.
Mandalay is among the hardest-hit areas, with widespread destruction and urgent humanitarian needs. Electricity and communication networks are down in affected areas, hampering rescue efforts.
UNICEF is closely monitoring the situation to support affected children and families amidst the challenging conditions.
(C) UNICEF Myanmar
Collapsed buildings in Mandalay Region, central Myanmar, reveals the devastating impact of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck at 1:00 PM on 28 March 2025.
Mandalay is among the hardest-hit areas, with widespread destruction and urgent humanitarian needs. Electricity and communication networks are down in affected areas, hampering rescue efforts.
UNICEF is closely monitoring the situation to support affected children and families amidst the challenging conditions.
(C) UNICEF Myanmar
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand, killing over 150 and injuring hundreds.
Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing requested international aid, as the US Geological Survey predicted a possible death toll of more than 10,000.
Eight deaths were confirmed in Thailand, with rescue efforts ongoing for those trapped in rubble.
161 Kiwis are registered as being in Thailand, seven in Myanmar.
The death toll from the Myanmar earthquake could easily surpass 10,000, according to modelling by the United States Geological Survey.
The huge earthquake hit Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds, with dozens trapped in collapsed buildings.
The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The quake flattened buildings, downed bridges, and cracked roads across swathes of Myanmar, and even demolished a 30-storey skyscraper under construction hundreds of kilometres away in Bangkok.
Myanmar’s normally secretive military government has made an extraordinary plea for international assistance, as it confirms the current toll does not include Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, which lies near the epicenter.
Modeling by the United States Geological Survey roughly estimates that the death toll is likely to surpass 1,000, and could be much higher. A death toll of more than 10,000 is a strong possibility, given the proximity of populated areas and the vulnerability of nearby structures, the estimates suggest.
While the full extent of the catastrophe is yet to emerge, the leader of isolated Myanmar, in the grip of a civil war, issued a rare plea for international aid.
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said 144 people had been killed, with 732 confirmed injured, but warned the toll was “likely to rise”.
Eight deaths have been confirmed so far in Thailand, with more expected.
“I would like to invite any country, any organisation, or anyone in Myanmar to come and help. Thank you,” he said in a televised speech, after visiting a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw.
He urged massive relief efforts after the disaster and said he had “opened all ways for foreign aid”.
US President Donald Trump said Washington would be offering assistance.
New footage shows a Bangkok skyscraper under construction collapsing during today’s 7.7 quake near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
Four years of civil war sparked by the military seizing power have ravaged Myanmar’s infrastructure and healthcare system, leaving it ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster.
Power is down in parts of Myanmar’s biggest city Yangon, the local utility said.
The country declared a state of emergency across the six worst-affected regions after the quake.
Thai rescue workers arrive on the scene at a construction building collapse in the Chatuchak area of Bangkok after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar. Photo / Getty Images
Hundreds of casualties arrived at a major hospital in Naypyidaw, where the emergency department entrance had collapsed on a car.
Medics treated the wounded outside the hospital, the same one visited by the junta chief. One official described it as a “mass casualty area”.
“I haven’t seen [something] like this before. We are trying to handle the situation. I’m so exhausted now,” a doctor told AFP.
New Zealand is gravely concerned at the earthquake affecting Myanmar, Thailand and other neighbouring countries. Our thoughts are with all those affected.
New Zealanders requiring urgent consular assistance can contact the 24/7 helpline on +64-99-20-20-20.
Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, appeared to have been badly hit. AFP photos from the city showed multiple buildings in ruins.
A resident reached by phone told AFP that a hospital and a hotel had been destroyed, and said the city was badly lacking in rescue personnel.
The main road bridge linking Mandalay and Sagaing was down, the city’s university and historic palace wall have collapsed, and telecoms have been affected, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said.
Across the border in Thailand, a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed into a tangled heap of rubble and dust in a matter of seconds.
Dramatic video from Bangkok showed a building under construction collapse after the city was rocked by an earthquake.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said eight bodies have been recovered and, with between 90 and 110 people unaccounted for, the toll is expected to rise.
“We see several dead bodies under the rubble. We will take time to bring the bodies out to avoid any further collapses,” he told reporters.
Myanmar Fire Services Department continues emergency search and rescue operations after an earthquake rocked Sagaing, central Myanmar. Photo / Myanmar Fire Services Department
“I heard people calling for help, saying ‘help me’,” Worapat Sukthai, deputy police chief of Bang Sue district, told AFP.
As night fell, around 100 rescue workers assembled at the scene to search for survivors, illuminated by specially erected floodlights.
Visiting the site, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said “every building” in Bangkok would need to be inspected for safety, though it was not immediately clear how that would be carried out.
People weep next to a collapsed building near Chatuchak Market in Bangkok. Photo / Getty Images
An emergency zone was declared in Bangkok, where some metro and light rail services were suspended.
The streets of the capital were full of commuters attempting to walk home, or simply taking refuge in the entrances of malls and office buildings.
City authorities said parks would stay open overnight for those unable to sleep at home.
Strong quakes are rare in Thailand, and across Bangkok and the northern tourist destination of Chiang Mai, stunned residents hurried outside, unsure of how to respond.
Rescue workers search for survivors of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / Getty Images
The quake was felt across the region, with China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and India all reporting tremors.
India, France and the European Union offered to provide assistance, while the World Health Organisation said it was mobilising to prepare trauma injury supplies.
Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation” in a telegram published by the Vatican.
New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters posted on social media he was “gravely concerned” at the earthquake.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected.”
He added New Zealanders requiring urgent consular assistance should contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24/7 helpline.
Concerned by the situation in the wake of the Earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand. Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby. Also asked the MEA to remain in touch…
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sent his best to the countries impacted.
“Concerned by the situation in the wake of the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand,” he wrote in a message on X.
“Praying for the safety and wellbeing of everyone. India stands ready to offer all possible assistance. In this regard, asked our authorities to be on standby.”
Already tricky communications into Myanmar are set to be further tested by the impact of the earthquake.
“Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta since a coup in 2021, making access to information difficult. The state controls almost all of local radio, television, print and online media,” the BBC reported.
“Internet use is also restricted.
“Communication lines also appear to be down as the BBC has been unable to get through to aid agencies on the ground.”
In the capital Naypyidaw, AFP journalists saw the entrance of the emergency department at the city’s main hospital pancaked on to a car.
Wounded at the 1000-bed facility were being treated outside, intravenous drips hanging from their gurneys. Some writhed in pain, others lay still as relatives sought to comfort them.
“I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” Duangjai, a resident of tourist city Chiang Mai, told AFP after tremors were felt across northern and central Thailand.
Sai, a 76-year-old Chiang Mai resident, was working at a minimart when the shop started the shake.
“I quickly rushed out of the shop along with other customers,” he said.
“This is the strongest tremor I’ve experienced in my life.”
Video shared to social media showed a building under construction collapsing in a cloud of debris.
Another video showed water spilling from a rooftop pool.
Some metro and light rail services were suspended in Bangkok.
A CNN journalist in Bangkok reported frantic scenes in his apartment, with light fixtures swinging back and forth as residents rushed to evacuate the building.
Another resident in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai, who also did not want to be named, said: “I felt it for about 10 seconds in my room then I figured out I couldn’t stay inside. So I rushed out on to the street.”
‘Very sudden and very strong’
AFP journalists in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, said roads were buckled by the force of the tremors and chunks of ceilings fell from buildings.
A resident in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, who did not want to be named, told CNN: “We felt the quake for about one minute and then we ran out of the building.
“We saw other people running out of the buildings too. It was very sudden and very strong.”
Video from Myanmar also showed the collapse of the Ava Bridge between Ava and Sagaing.
Witnesses said parts of the historic Mandalay Palace in Mandalay were severely damaged in the quake, the Myanmar Now news website reported.
Three residents of Mandalay, one of Myanmar’s largest cities, told Reuters they saw multiple buildings collapsing as scores ran out on to the streets when the quake hit.
A witness told Reuters they had witnessed a multi-level building “collapse in front of my eyes”.
Another local told Reuters “the situation is very bad”.
Residents of China’s southwest Yunnan province also felt the temblor.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) said the jolt measured magnitude 7.9, according to the Xinhua news agency, with a social media post by CENC saying “tremors were felt in Yunnan”.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar.
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
BREAKING: Skyscraper under construction collapses in Bangkok, Thailand, following magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar. pic.twitter.com/EdAaXr0J1f
