Myanmar Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,600, Anti-Coup Fighters Declare Two-Week Ceasefire: T

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, killing over 1600 people and injuring hundreds. The tremor, which hit northwest of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon, was followed by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock minutes later, causing widespread destruction.

Buildings collapsed, bridges were downed, and roads cracked across large parts of Myanmar. The devastation extended to Thailand, where a 30-storey skyscraper under construction in Bangkok crumbled, killing several people.

Friday’s quake, among the biggest to jolt the Southeast Asian nation in the last century, crippled airports, bridges and highways amid a civil war that has wrecked the economy and displaced millions.

Here are the top updates on Myanmar’s earthquake:

• At least 2,900 structures, 30 highways, and seven bridges were destroyed by the earthquake, according to an initial assessment of Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government.
• The control tower at the airport in Naypyitaw, Myanmar’s purpose-built capital city, collapsed, making it inoperable.
• Myanmar’s anti-coup fighters, the People’s Defence Force (PDF), have announced a two-week ceasefire, allowing for rescue and relief operations to take place.
• The UK has pledged £10 million ($12.9 million) in humanitarian aid to support Myanmar’s relief efforts.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed that an Israeli professional rescue and aid team to be sent to Thailand to help with the aftermath of earthquake. It will assist in population-based and engineering rescue.
• The US Geological Service’s predictive modelling estimated Myanmar’s death toll could exceed 10,000.
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