Quake of 7.7 magnitude rocks myanmar

A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar today, March 28, its epicenter just 17.2 km from Mandalay—a city of 1.2 million—shaking the ground at a shallow 10 km depth, according to the US Geological Survey. A 6.4 magnitude aftershock struck 12 minutes later, rattling nerves further. In Mandalay, buildings crumbled, a bridge crashed into a river, and people flooded the streets—some rushed to hospitals as chaos unfolded. Social media clips show passengers at Mandalay Airport crouching on the tarmac, jetliners in the background, while screams of “sit down, don’t run” cut through the panic.

The tremors rippled 1,400 km to Bangkok, where a 30-story skyscraper under construction in Chatuchak district collapsed, killing at least two and trapping 43 workers—seven have been pulled out so far, Thai authorities say. Water sloshed from rooftop pools, high-rises swayed for minutes, and 17 million residents poured into the streets, some in bathrobes, dodging debris. Bangkok’s governor ordered inspections as metro and rail services halted—buildings there aren’t built for quakes, so the damage could climb. Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra declared an emergency, calling an urgent meeting to tackle the crisis.

Myanmar’s junta declared an emergency in Sagaing, Mandalay, and Naypyidaw, where roads buckled and pagodas cracked—20 deaths are reported, including three from a mosque collapse in Taungoo. Tremors reached China, Vietnam, and even India’s northeast, but Myanmar’s civil war since the 2021 coup makes hard news scarce—power and networks are down in many spots. The Sagaing Fault’s no stranger to quakes, with six big ones between 1930 and 1956, but this is the strongest in a century. The region’s on edge, waiting for aftershocks and answers.