Source: CBSNews; The Straits Times; CNA; The Economic Times; AFP; Logfret Thailand
Date: 28th March 2025

Two violent earthquakes rocked Southeast Asia on Friday, causing buildings in the Thai capital Bangkok to sway and prompting evacuations across the city, as well as in neighboring Myanmar. A skyscraper under construction in Bangkok collapsed after the first temblor hit, Bangkok police said.

Medics said 43 workers were trapped at the site of the collapse, according to French news agency AFP, which said the building was going to be 30 stories high.

Police told The Associated Press the scene is near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak Market.

The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the first one had a magnitude of 7.7 and was at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). Its epicenter was in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.

An aftershock with a magnitude of 6.4 shook the region 12 minutes later.

Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook from the first quake, and debris fell from many buildings.

There were no immediate reports of casualties and the Prime Minister called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the temblors.

The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Alarms went off in buildings when the first quake hit around 1:30 p.m., and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.

They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention said the first quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.

The epicenter of the first earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 30 miles east of the city of Monywa.

In the capital, Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.

Further reports of damage weren’t immediately available from Myanmar.