After a strong 7.7-magnitude disaster struck on Friday, causing houses to fall across Myanmar and Thailand, people have been talking about their shock and horror.
The shakes were “quite intensive” and lasted for about four minutes, according to a citizen of Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar.
The person, who opted to remain unnamed for safety reasons, described waking up from a sleep to the tower shaking violently on the BBC World Service’s Newsday program.
He told the BBC,” I was receiving emails from friends and realizing that it was not only in Yangon, but also many other places across the country,” he said.
A 30-storey tower collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, causing the tremors, which were felt throughout Thailand and as far as China, trapping 43 workers beneath the dust.
As houses shook and water poured from top swimming pools, people fled into the streets.
When the quake struck, Sirinya Nakuta said to Reuters:” It didn’t quit. I overheard items sputtering from the home like stones crashing into ours. I told my children that we didn’t stay here and that we must leave. So we “went down”
Worapat Sukthai, Bang Sue city deputy police chief, claimed he could speak screams coming from the collapse of the tower block.
He continued,” When I arrived at the site, I heard citizens calling for assistance and saying “help me.” We think there are thousands of injuries, but we are still trying to figure out how many are fatalities.”
At Naypyidaw General Hospital, where people lay on gurneys outside and had iv spills hanging from tent stands, Myanmar officials designated a “mass victim place” due to the magnitude of the damage.
A unique request for international aid was made by the military coup that has ruled Myanmar since its 2021 revolution, establishing a state of emergency in six distinct areas.
Junta main Min Aung Hlaing was spotted at the hospital in Naypyidaw. He pleaded for international help, saying,” We want the global community to deliver humanitarian assistance as soon as possible.”
In a region where the military is in power, access to information is difficult. Additionally, access to the internet is prohibited. Communications are also lower, as the BBC has been unable to reach the aid organizations on the ground.
Zsuzsanna Vari-Kovacs described evacuating a diner in Bangkok, where rail and road companies were suspended. She stated,” I was anticipating the act, and suddenly I started to feel the earth rattle.” I initially believed it to be me, but I later discovered that everyone was staring at me. We soon ran around.
Deborah Punmachet was checking her cellphone when her head abruptly fell through. She said,” I was sitting in my La-Z-Boy [a recliner ] and it suddenly moved back and forth. Finally it turned around, and I hit my head against the table.
Bangkok has had at least ten years since the country’s most effective disaster, according to Bui Thu, a BBC journalist who resides there.
Social media images in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest town, showed crumbling structures, including portions of the ancient royal palace. A 90-year-old gate fell off, and portions of the main roadway that ran through Yangon to the city were torn apart.
The United States Geological Survey has issued a “red alert” warning that “high deaths and considerable harm are likely.” Although the death toll is unknown, according to the USGS, it could be in the hundreds.