A ground-ripping 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Southeast Asia on Friday afternoon, toppling buildings and sending thousands into the streets in fear, including in Bangkok, where a 30-story government office building under construction collapsed, trapping at least 43 workers beneath the rubble.
The quake, which the United States Geological Survey said was centered northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar, struck around 1:30 p.m. and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
The tremors were felt as far as China’s Yunnan province and across several countries in the region.
In real time, social media users recorded footage of the massive Bangkok skyscraper crashing into a thick cloud of dust while it was still under construction.
Police in the Thai capital announced a state of emergency, and rescue personnel hurried to the scene.
Although precise numbers have not yet been verified, authorities said that rescue efforts were still underway and that hundreds of people may be hurt.
Janina Basco, a Filipina living in Bangkok, was one of the people who saw the earthquake personally and spoke about her terrifying experience online.
“Grabe ang lakas ng lindol dito sa Bangkok, Thailand. OMG yung condo namin from 12th floor parang pa-tumba na yung building. Shocks shocks!!!” she wrote.
She described how she initially thought she was just dizzy due to lack of sleep until she saw the entire room swaying and heard the loud creaking of the door.
Basco said she and her partner quickly grabbed important belongings and evacuated using the fire exit, along with other residents and Thai locals.
Outside, she said there was chaos and panic as crowds gathered in fear, with some speculating that the nearby Baiyoke Sky Hotel might collapse as well. The couple decided to leave the area and seek a safer location.
“Nag-aasikaso ng paglikas kasi sabi sa balita possible daw na may aftershock pa in a few hours or so,” she added, noting that the tremor lasted about five minutes.
In Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, buildings were damaged and the city’s largest hospital became a “mass casualty area,” according to reports.
Videos from the scene showed roads buckled and wounded residents being treated outside the hospital amid gridlocked traffic.
The country’s aging infrastructure and limited medical resources compounded the emergency response.
Tremors were also felt in northern Thailand, including Chiang Mai, where residents fled buildings in panic.
Transport services in Bangkok were suspended temporarily as authorities assessed structural damage across the city.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra cut short an official visit to Phuket to oversee emergency operations and convene an urgent meeting, according to posts from her office on social media.
As of this writing, the Philippine Embassy in Thailand has received no reports of Filipinos being injured or otherwise impacted by the earthquake.
