YANGON – At least 75 people were killed and hundreds left homeless on Friday after a strong earthquake hit Myanmar, with fears that the death toll could rise significantly.
Buildings were flattened close to the epicentre while terrified residents fled their homes as tremors were felt as far away as Bangkok, Hanoi and parts of China when the magnitude 6.8 quake hit late on Thursday. Myanmar state television confirmed a toll of 74 dead and 111 injured.
Nearly 400 homes collapsed in four villages and towns close to the epicentre, the broadcaster said, with nine government offices also destroyed in badly-hit Tarlay town. Several monasteries were also smashed. Across the border, Thai authorities said a 52-year-old woman was killed in Mae Sai district after a wall in her house collapsed.
Sixteen people, including seven Myanmar and five Chinese nationals, were hurt in the quake. In Yangon, World Vision Myanmar Country Director Chris Herink said there were reports that the number of people killed had increased. “The latest unconfirmed number is 140, so it is a worrying trend definitely,” he said.
Explaining the high death toll in Myanmar, he said “it’s the time of day combined with the severity of the quake and also obviously the construction standards of the homes”. Tarlay, where the hospital collapsed during the quake, was the worst affected township, according to teams in the area.
“As we go further into these areas we see collapsed houses, broken roads, destroyed monasteries and government buildings,” he said. World Vision was able to distribute 1,500 litres of water and food for 1,350 people and Herink said the government had successfully activated its emergency response plans.
Witnesses crossing the border into Thailand said a large tent had been set up on a soccer field for hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed. A Myanmar official said earlier that the military, police and local authorities were trying to find some people injured in the affected areas but the roads were still closed.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) issued a report on the situation on Friday, which said the “risk of landslides remains high” in affected areas and said it had received reports of “sporadic disruption of basic facilities, including electricity, water supply and telecommunications”.
Aftershocks continued into Friday following the earthquake and four pagodas in the historic town of Chiang Saen near the northern Thai border were damaged, including Chedi Luang, where its three-metre long pinnacle crashed to the ground.
Over 6,000 people were left “stricken” after the earthquake in China’s rugged Xishuangbanna border region, but there were no fatalities as of late Thursday night, according to the country’s Civil Affairs Ministry.
