BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand's capital has been declared a disaster area following a strong earthquake in neighboring Myanmar, Bangkok city hall said on Friday (March 28).
The Bangkok governor has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response, it said.
The strong earthquake in Myanmar has caused damage to many high-rise buildings in the Thai capital Bangkok, its governor said on Friday.
Chadchart Sittipunt said the number of buildings damaged was not yet known and inspections were underway. He urged people to be cautious.
Bloomberg reported that the quake measured 7.7 in magnitude, according to the USGS, which said it was 16 kilometers northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar at a depth of 10 kilometres.
It struck at about 1:21 p.m. in Bangkok and was the strongest worldwide since 2023, according to USGS data compiled by Bloomberg. There was a second temblor of 6.4 magnitude around the same area, the USGS said.
Chinese authorities warned of the possibility of a tsunami, according to a report on state-owned CCTV. Witnesses in Bangkok said the shaking continued for more than a minute, with people fleeing onto the street.
"The chandeliers were swinging strongly," said Vy Nguyen, who works in an office building in central Ho Chi Minh City and said it sounded as though the windows were cracking. "One of my guests crawled under the table, while I remained standing. I am still feeling dizzy now."
The earthquake was strongly felt in Bangkok, where buildings visibly swayed and water from a rooftop swimming pool splashed onto the street. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was in a meeting in the resort town of Phuket, ordered immediate discussions on the quake.
There were also unconfirmed reports of a building collapse in Bangkok's Chatuchak district, while the shaking was felt as far north as Chiang Mai.
Bangkok's BTS skytrain has suspended services, while the stock and futures exchanges halted trading.
In Hanoi, hundreds of people rushed out of high-rise buildings after feeling the tremors. Some people in Hai Ba Trung district said they felt the shake twice.
