Myanmar, Thailand Earthquake LIVE Updates: Fresh aftershocks rattle Myanmar’s Mandalay as quake toll goes past 2,000

The death toll in the earthquake that hit last Friday rose up to 2,000 and injured nearly 4,000, with many still missing. The disaster devastated Mandalay and central Myanmar, collapsing buildings, roads, and infrastructure, while power outages and fuel shortages hamper rescue efforts. Among the dead are 200 monks, 700 Muslim worshippers, and 50 children in a collapsed preschool. The earthquake worsens an already dire humanitarian crisis in a country plagued by civil war, where millions are displaced and aid access is restricted. The UN and relief agencies warn of rising casualties and urgent medical and shelter needs ahead of monsoon rains. International aid, including from India, China, and the EU, is arriving, while the U.S. has pledged $2 million in assistance. Meanwhile, in Bangkok, the quake killed at least 18, primarily at a collapsed construction site, with rescue teams searching for survivors. (Reuters)

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) recovered seven bodies from earthquake-flattened buildings in Myanmar's Mandalay region on Monday. The Indian rescuers were tasked with launching relief and rescue operations in about a dozen buildings. The NDRF has been working in 13 buildings in Sector D of Mandalay City, the second largest urban area of the country. The rescuers arrived in Myanmar on Saturday as part of India's humanitarian 'Operation Brahma' to help its neighbour, Myanmar. The aim is to retrieve bodies quickly to prevent an epidemic due to rotting. The death toll in Myanmar has risen to over 1,600.

Thai authorities said they are investigating why a single office tower under construction in Bangkok collapsed during an earthquake Friday that otherwise caused limited damage in the capital. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt visited the site as heavy equipment pulled away rubble from the 30-story building in hopes of finding survivors among the 78 people still missing.

He said it is most urgent to first concentrate on finding whoever might be saved. "Even one life saved is worth all the effort, so I think we have to move on, carry on,” he said. “What's important in the long-term and medium-term, I think we need to find the root cause so at least we can learn some lessons and improve building regulations," he said. “In the end, we will have some results that will improve safety in Bangkok.”

(AP)

A Myanmar Muslim organization says more than 700 worshipers died when earthquake collapsed mosques during Friday prayers, reported AP.

Rescuers freed a woman from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar, officials said on Monday, a glimmer of hope three days after a massive earthquake that killed around 2,000 as searchers in Myanmar and Thailand raced against time to find more survivors. The woman was pulled from the rubble of the Great Wall Hotel in the city of Mandalay, according to a Chinese government post on Facebook.

Mandalay is near the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday that wreaked mass devastation in Myanmar and damage in neighbouring Thailand. In Bangkok, Thailand's capital, emergency crews on Monday resumed a desperate search for 76 people believed buried under the rubble of an under-construction skyscraper that collapsed.

After nearly three days, fears were growing that the rescuers would find more dead bodies, which could sharply raise Thailand's death toll that stood at 18 on Sunday.

(Reuters)

China said on Monday that it has sent a first batch of relief supplies worth 100 million yuan ($13.78 million) to Myanmar following the powerful earthquake on Friday, including tents, blankets and first aid kits, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

An armed resistance movement against Myanmar's military-run government criticised the junta on Sunday for conducting airstrikes on villages even as the country reels from an earthquake that has killed around 1,700 people. The Karen National Union, one of Myanmar's oldest ethnic armies, said in a statement the junta "continues to carry out airstrikes targeting civilian areas, even as the population suffers tremendously from the earthquake". The group said that under normal circumstances, the military would be prioritising relief efforts, but instead is focused on "deploying forces to attack its people".

Myanmar has been locked in civil war with multiple armed opposition groups since a 2021 coup, when the military seized power from the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Shortly after Friday's devastating earthquake, military jets launched airstrikes and drone attacks in Karen state, near the KNU headquarters, according to the Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation.

(Reuters)

Thailand's financial payments infrastructure and services are operating normally after the powerful earthquake in Myanmar, the tremors of which hit Bangkok on Friday, the central bank said on Monday. Financial institutions continue to provide normal services for both retail and corporate clients without disruption, Deputy Governor Roong Mallikamas said at a joint news conference, saying the impact "should be a short-term shock".

The Federation of Thai Industries said that manufacturing and exports had not been impacted by the quake and Thai-Myanmar border trade remains normal. "Industrial manufacturing operations across all sectors were largely unaffected by this seismic event, with critical production infrastructure maintaining full operational," said FTI chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul. Asadej Kongsiri, President of Stock Exchange of Thailand, said the fundamentals of listed companies remained strong and the business sector could efficiently handle the situation.

(Reuters)

The death toll from the earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble, the country’s military-led government said Monday. Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun told state-run MRTV that another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 were missing. He did not provide more specific figures.

(AP)

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has issued a press release updating about the earthquake that 18 people in Thailand have died due to the earthquake, with 11 fatalities resulting from a collapsed skyscraper in the capital, the worst-hit area.

Rescuers have detected signs of life beneath the rubble, prompting ongoing rescue efforts.

Officials are conducting building inspections across the city, while traffic conditions are gradually improving, with the Din Daeng Expressway set to reopen early tomorrow.

Essential services, including hospitals, are fully operational, and those injured or affected by property damage will be eligible for compensation.

Parents are advised to check with schools regarding closures, according to The Guardian reported.

The smell of decaying bodies permeated the streets of Myanmar's second-largest city on Sunday as people worked frantically by hand to clear rubble in the hope of finding someone still alive, two days after a massive earthquake struck that killed more than 1,600 people and left countless others buried.

Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country in the midst of a civil war.

The search for survivors has been primarily conducted by the local residents without the aid of heavy equipment, moving rubble by hand and with shovels in 41-degree Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) heat, with only the occasional tracked excavator to be seen. (AP)

India has sent relief materials, rescue teams and medical equipment in five military aircraft to Myanmar. India mounted its relief mission, named 'Operation Brahma' as a swift response to the devastation caused by the earthquake that hit Myanmar as well as Thailand on Friday. New Delhi dispatched relief materials, medicines, an 80-member search and rescue team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and military field hospitals to Myanmar in three C-130J and two C-17 Globemaster aircraft. A specialised rescue team from Indian Army's 50 (I) Para Brigade has also been swiftly deployed to Myanmar, officials said.

(PTI)

Emergency aid is pouring into Myanmar after Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, which has left at least 1,644 dead, 3,408 injured, and 139 missing. Relief efforts are struggling due to a severe shortage of medical supplies, including trauma kits, blood bags, and anesthetics. “We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction,” said Mohammed Riyas, the IRC’s Myanmar director.

(With inputs from AP)

Another 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay on Saturday, adding to a string of aftershocks that have shaken central Myanmar. The quake hit at a shallow depth of around 10 km (6 miles), intensifying tremors felt across Mandalay and nearby regions. Residents reported buildings swaying and household items falling, though there were no immediate reports of significant damage or casualties. Some people evacuated their homes as a precaution.

Local authorities have urged residents to stay alert for further tremors and follow safety guidelines. Disaster response teams are monitoring the situation closely, and assessments are underway to determine any structural damage.

(With inputs from AP)

Myanmar’s historic and religious sites suffered severe damage in the quake, with pagodas and minarets toppling, Buddhist monasteries and mosques collapsing, and centuries-old monuments—once popular tourist attractions—reduced to rubble.

Rebel forces in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, a stronghold of resistance against the military regime, are using elephants to clear roads destroyed, according to the National Unity Government, the country’s shadow government in exile.

(With inputs from NYT)

As Myanmar reels from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that has killed over 1,600 people, the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID is expected to hinder recovery efforts. The agency, once 10,000-strong, has been slashed to about 15 staff, with aid programs defunded and contracts terminated. President Trump said, “We’re going to be helping,” but the US response has been muted. “In the past, the US would almost invariably have sent search teams and released funding,” said former USAID disaster chief Jeremy Konyndyk, as per The New York Times. “But none of that’s happening.”

Meanwhile, China and India have already sent aid, while Myanmar’s junta, under heavy sanctions, remains isolated.

A structural engineering expert told the BBC that fewer than 10% of Bangkok’s buildings are designed to withstand earthquakes. Amorn Pimarnmas, president of the Structural Engineers Association of Thailand, explained that a 2007 law mandating earthquake-resistant design applies only to new constructions. Buildings erected before then “are likely not to be designed for earthquakes.” While some older buildings are built to withstand wind loads, he cautioned, as per BBC, that this doesn’t guarantee earthquake resistance. He also warned that Bangkok’s soft soil could amplify ground shaking by three to four times, increasing the risk of structural collapse.

Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, alongside the queen and prince, conveyed their “deep sorrow and condolences” to the families of those who lost their lives in the earthquake, reported CNN. In a statement on Saturday, the royal family declared that , all earthquake victims across the country would receive medical care under their “royal patronage.”

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stated the country “has returned to normalcy” after the earthquake shook Bangkok, reported CNN. Shinawatra confirmed only one building collapsed in the capital, noting it was under construction and no other structures were similarly affected. “We have tasked the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning to investigate as to what happened [to the collapsed building] and what would be the future standards,” she said, as per CNN.

Twelve Chinese nationals are confirmed injured in the Myanmar earthquake, reported Chinese state media.

Myanmar’s military junta has continued airstrikes in the war-torn country even after a deadly earthquake killed over 1,600 people. The UN condemned the attacks as “completely outrageous and unacceptable.” BBC Burmese confirmed that an airstrike in Naungcho, northern Shan state, killed seven people just hours after the quake. Pro-democracy rebel groups reported bombings in Sagaing, the earthquake’s epicenter, and regions near the Thai border. Myanmar has been in civil war since the military coup in 2021, with resistance forces now controlling vast territories.

Relief efforts in Myanmar are being hampered by debris and damaged roads, the UN said, as rescuers continue searching for survivors after the country’s deadliest earthquake in years. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of severe shortages of medical supplies in a nation isolated by its military junta, reported CNN. Health workers in central and northwestern cities, including Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw, are struggling to treat the injured. In the south, Nyaungshwe, Kalaw, and Pinlaung are among the worst-hit areas.

Additional support also came in from South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore.

(With inputs from CNN)

The earthquake is the most powerful to hit Myanmar in over 100 years, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The last quake of similar magnitude struck Taunggyi in 1912.

Earthquakes occur due to the movement of tectonic plates, which make up the Earth's upper layer. Myanmar is one of the most geologically active regions, as it sits at the convergence of four tectonic plates—the Eurasian, Indian, Sunda, and Burma microplate. A key feature in Myanmar’s seismic activity is the 1,200 km-long Sagaing fault, which runs north to south through the country. Early data suggests that Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake resulted from a "strike-slip" movement, where two blocks shift horizontally—consistent with the Sagaing fault’s activity.

(With inputs from BBC)

Myanmar’s anti-coup fighters, the People’s Defence Force (PDF), have announced a two-week ceasefire in areas affected by the recent devastating earthquake, allowing for rescue and relief operations to take place. The PDF will pause offensive operations starting March 30, 2025, while maintaining defensive actions, according to the shadow National Unity Government (NUG).

The NUG, formed by lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup, has pledged to collaborate with the UN and NGOs to ensure the safety of relief operations and plans to establish temporary medical and rescue camps in regions under its control.