What we know so far
It was 3:15pm in Mandalay, Myanmar and 3:45pm in Bangkok, Thailand. This is something we know so far about the huge earthquake that hit Myanmar on Friday and its devastating effects.
The death toll in Myanmar has reached over 1,000. Rescuers are digging into the tiled bleed of a building that fell in a desperate search for survivors. The ruling junta said in a statement on Saturday that 1,002 people were killed and 2,376 were injured. The statement suggests that “detailed numbers are still being collected,” saying it could still rise.
The shallow 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Sagar city in central Myanmar early Friday afternoon, followed by a 6.7 magnitude aftershock. The earthquake destroyed buildings, knocked down bridges, and succumbed to the roads beyond Myanmar’s belts.
Myanmar declared a state of emergency in six worst-affected areas after the earthquake, and in Naypyidaw, one of the main hospitals in the capital, the clinic was forced to treat the injured outdoors.
In nearby Thailand, where she felt a trembling, Bangkok city authorities said six people have died, 26 people have been injured and 47 still missing, most of which are at construction sites near the capital’s popular Chatuchak market, where skyscrapers have collapsed. Previous statements said 10 people have been confirmed to have died and about 100 have been confirmed missing.
Bangkok city officials said they would deploy more than 100 engineers to inspect the building for safety after receiving reports of more than 2,000 damage.
According to US geologists, it was the biggest tremor that had hit Myanmar for more than a century, and the tremor was so powerful that it seriously damaged a building in Bangkok, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the epicenter.
In Myanmar, military junta chief Min Aung Frening has issued a very rare charm for international aid and has shown the severity of the disaster. Previous military juntas have eschewed foreign aid even after major natural disasters.
The United Nations has allocated $5 million to launch relief efforts. President Donald Trump said Friday that the US would help with the response, but some experts were concerned about the effort given his administration’s deep cuts in foreign aid.
A team of 37 people from China’s Yunnan province arrived in Yangon early Saturday with earthquake detectors, drones and other supplies, official Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Min Aung Frening, the Chinese embassy said, but state media reported that he had “expressed deep sadness” about the destruction.
According to a report by Russian state news agency TASS, the Russian Ministry of Emergency has dispatched two planes to carry 120 rescuers and supplies into the area.
India, France and the European Union offered to provide assistance, but said WHO is mobilizing to prepare a supply of trauma. India said it had dispatched search and rescue teams, medical teams and clauses, but Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said it would send 50 people on Sunday to identify the worst hit areas and provide assistance.
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Agence France-Presse (AFP) has rescued a woman alive from a collapsed Mandalay apartment block.
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The AP reports that six people have been killed, 26 people have been injured and 47 are still missing from a construction site near the capital’s popular Chatuchak market, according to Bangkok city authorities.
More heavy equipment was brought in to operate a large number of tiled rubbers on Saturday, but hope was waning among missing friends and family that they would be alive.
“I prayed they survived, but when I arrived here and saw the abandoned in, where are they? Are they still alive? I’m still alive? I pray that all six of them are still alive,” said 45-year-old Naré Moltonlek, waiting for news from Myanmar.
“I can’t accept this. When I see this, I can’t accept this. My best friend is there too,” she said.
Waenphet Panta told the Associated Press that he had never heard of her daughter Kanlayanee since she called about an hour before Quake. A friend said her Kanrayani worked high in the building on Friday.
“I pray that my daughter is safe, that she is still alive and that she is in the hospital,” she said.
Sharenicola Davis
Many people have heard of the Richter scale to measure the size of an earthquake, but the current standard is the Moment Magnitude Scale.
“The Richter scale is an older scale developed for California. It’s only suitable for small earthquakes and isn’t very good at distinguishing between larger shock sizes,” said Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysics and climate risks at the University of London.
As the USGS website points out, instantaneous magnitude calculations are based on the strength of the rock where the slip occurred, the area of the fault, and the distance of the fault.
“Therefore, stronger rocks, or larger areas or movements in earthquakes, all contribute to creating greater sizes,” he adds.
However, like the Richter scale, the moment magnitude scale is logarithmic. This means that an increase in magnitude by one unit increases the degree of ground shaking involved by a factor of 10.
“This is the main tremor of any standard, and the impact is much worse by the fact that it is very shallow. It’s only 10km below. If it’s 100km deep, the impact will be much smaller, and he says that depth and size are important.
However, he added, the measurements differ depending on the location of the seismic array used.
According to the China Earthquake Network Centre, the earthquake in Myanmar reached a size of 7.9, with trembling sensations felt in China’s south-western Yunnan province.
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Description: Why it caused the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand
Nicola Davis
Earthquakes occur when the giant rock slabs that make up the Earth’s crust are known as tectonic plates, and when rock slabs oppose each other. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Myanmar earthquake occurred as a result of a “strike slip fault” between plates in India and Eurasia. This means that these two tectonic plates rubbed sideways against each other.
“The tremor occurred at the Sagar fault, which marks the boundary of the tectonic plate between the Indian plate to the west and the Eurasian plate to the east. The Indian plate is moving north along the fault compared to the Eurasian plate.”
According to the USGS, the area has experienced several similar major strike slip earthquakes in the past, with six occurring within about 250km of the current earthquake since 1900, with a magnitude of over 7.
“This is the main tremor of any standard, and the impact is much worse by the fact that it is very shallow. It’s only 10km below. If it’s 100km deep, the impact will be much smaller, and he says that depth and size are important.
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The UK’s UNHCR, the UK’s national partner of the UN refugee agency, has launched an emergency appeal to support those affected by the earthquake in Myanmar.
“People who have already lost a lot now face another disaster and more suffering,” said Mark Hopkinson, UNHCR’s fundraiser director. “The need for support is more urgent than ever.”
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Mandalay on Friday, followed by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock. Several buildings have collapsed and roads have been damaged in Mandalay, and six Myanmar areas have declared a state of emergency.
In a statement, the UK at UNHCR highlighted the situation.
Myanmar is home to 3.6 million internally displaced people, many of whom were already struggling due to the ongoing conflict. The area in the center of the earthquake and northwest of Myanmar is home to 1.6 million displaced people.
The tremors of the earthquake were also felt in Thailand, including areas where more than 80,000 refugees from Myanmar live in temporary shelters along the border. ”
Sharerebecca Ratcliffe
According to US geologists, Friday’s earthquake was the largest to hit Myanmar in more than a century, and the tremor was strong enough to seriously damage a building in Bangkok, hundreds of miles from the epicenter.
Bangkok city officials said more than 100 engineers will inspect the city’s buildings after receiving more than 2,000 damage reports.
There was no extensive destruction, but the shaking brought dramatic imagery of a rooftop swimming pool, tilting the contents to many sides of the towering block of apartments in the city. Hospitals, hotels, offices and high-rise condominiums were all evacuated.
One woman moved out of the hospital building and gave birth to a baby outdoors, but the surgeon continued to surgeons on patients after evacuation, a spokesman told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
However, the worst damage was in Myanmar, where a military coup caused a four-year civil war, causing medical services to grow very excessively.
Guardian graphics. Source: USGS.Guardian graphics. Source: USGS.Share
Updated to 09.02 EDT
King Charles sent a message of sad dol after a fatal earthquake in Myanmar.
In a message posted on social media to “people of Myanmar,” King Charles said:
My wife and I were most terribly shocked and saddened to learn of the devastating earthquake in Myanmar. Not to mention the tragic loss of life and the horrific damage to homes, buildings and livelihoods, not to mention the destruction of sacred pagodas, monasteries and other places of worship.
I know that the people of Myanmar continue to endure many of the difficulties and tragedy of your life, and I have long admired your extraordinary resilience and spirit.
In these most difficult and heartbreaking times, my wife and I send us our deepest sympathy to all those suffering from the deep tragedy of losing our loved ones, our homes and precious living. ”
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Wide power outages have hindered rescue operations in Myanmar, with emergency personnel relying on portable generators for electricity, reported the French Press (AFP).
After more than 24 hours of desperate search, many are exhausted and desperate to relieve. “We’ve been here since last night. We’re not asleep. We need more help here,” a rescuer told AFP.
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New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters wrote to X that his government supports relief efforts “through the International Red Cross Movement.”
“Our idea lies with everyone who has lost a loved one and everyone else affected,” Peters reported Saturday by The Associated Press.
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said all embassy staff in Yangon and Bangkok were explained and that New Zealanders were not reported to have been injured or killed.
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Hong Kong will send rescue teams to Myanmar, the Associated Press reported.
City CEO John Lee also expressed his sadness for the earthquake victims in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s National Fire Department said 120 rescuers were waiting for a possible deployment. The team included rescuers, doctors, nurses, veterinarians, six search and rescue dogs and 15 tonnes of equipment.
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This link also includes some images of Myanmar and Thailand that were matched at the Guardian photo desk.
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Here are some images that come through today’s newswire:
Damaged building in Nepaidau, Myanmar. Photo: Aung Shine Oo/Apa Tuk-Tuk passes a damaged building in Mandalay the day after the earthquake struck central Myanmar. Photo: Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Imagespeople is about to release residents trapped under the tiled rub of the Sky Villa Condo Development, which was destroyed in Mandalay on Saturday in a team of rescuers. Photo: Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty ImagesA is for construction workers to inspect damage to a building under construction in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Patipat Jantong/Reutersshare
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