Myanmar’s earthquake death toll exceeded 1,000 on Saturday as the military government declared a state of emergency and pleaded blood donation
Junta said 1,002 people have been killed, 2,376 have been declared 30 missing and 2,376 injured, but those numbers are expected to rise, according to Myanmar’s state media. The trembling caused at least six deaths in Thailand, where more than 100 people went missing after the collapse of a building in Bangkok, the capital.
The epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was about 20 km outside Mandalay, the second largest city with a population of 1.5 mn and 10 km deep. Then, two dozen aftershocks followed, including a nearby 6.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by two dozen aftershocks.
“We expect the number of casualties to rise further,” General Min Ang Fröning, the leader of the junta, said late Friday. “In some areas, buildings are falling apart and we are still in rescue operations.”
He pleaded for “as much support as possible for ongoing rescue efforts.”
During a press conference Friday evening, President Donald Trump described the earthquake as “terrifying” and said the US would help Myanmar in the aftermath without providing details.
His comments came on the same day when the State Department officially notified that it would be closing the US international development agency. This usually plays an important role in disaster relief.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also provided support, with the UN allocating $5 million and EU Euro 2.5 million for immediate relief efforts. South Korea has also pledged $2 million in support through international aid groups.
The earthquake was the most powerful since the 2023 earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, but was felt throughout the region, including China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, as well as Vietnam and Bangladesh.
The US Geological Survey predicted that the death toll in Myanmar could exceed 10,000 based on modelling.
The World Bank added that economic losses could exceed the country’s GDP.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN is “the weakest country in the region” in Myanmar, which he would “mobilize to help those in need.”
Social media videos and images showed massive destruction in Mandalay, Myanmar’s historic capital, where temples were destroyed, royal palaces were damaged and the 90-year-old bridge collapsed. A crack erupted on the highway to Yangon, the most populous city.
According to Chinese national media, China sent emergency rescue teams from Beijing and Yunnan to Myanmar, and sent a dispatch team. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a previous statement that it had not received any reports of the deaths of Chinese citizens.
Russia has also sent two rescue teams and medical staff to Myanmar, including the K-9 team, according to state news agency TASS.
Disasters have occurred just like in Myanmar Wrapped into a civil war This is the first time since the 2021 coup that defeated selected Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
The northern part of the country near the epicenter of the earthquake was particularly hard hit by fighting between military and armed democracy and ethnic minority groups. According to the United Nations, around 3.5 million people have been displaced internally.
The military has strictly controlled access to information, enacted internet control and suppressed local media, but Western sanctions have segregated the country and adjusted its economy.
Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet network, said it is preparing to provide equipment to support “communications and relief efforts” as government approval is pending. Local media reports say the system is not approved in Myanmar, but armed resistance groups use it to circumvent government internet control.
Rights groups, including Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and Cyclone Nargis in 2008, have killed more than 100,000 due to concerns about access to humanitarian relief efforts within Myanmar, where military governments are restricting international aid to disaster victims.
In a statement, the head of Medecin said Franco’s frontier in Federica of Myanmar in Sands Franco “is extremely challenging to not only get information but also to reach people in urgent need.”
She added that “significant communication power outages in some of the most difficult hit areas due to ongoing conflict.”
Bangkok, 17mn, Thailand’s capital, returned normally on Saturday morning.
The service in the metropolitan city and light rail has almost resumed, as was the case with flights from the city’s airport.
The worst damage to the city, 600 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter, comes after a 33-storey building collapsed and locked up dozens of workers.
Nattanan, 27, was in the fall on Friday night, looking for news about his father, working as a foreman. “I’m still waiting for hope,” he told the Financial Times.
Additional Reports by William Langley of Guangzhou
