Bangkok Declared 'Disaster Area' As Strong Earthquake In Neighbouring Myanmar Shakes Thai Capital

Updated: Friday, March 28, 2025, 16:14 [IST]

Thai officials have declared Bangkok a "disaster area" after a major earthquake hit the Southeast Asian country, with its epicentre in neighbouring Myanmar.

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra convened an urgent meeting to evaluate the quake's effects.

Photo Credit: https://x.com/ingshin; AP/PTI

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (left); Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, March 28, 2025.

The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention reported that the tremor was felt across nearly every part of the nation.

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 Myanmar.

กรณี #แผ่นดินไหว หลังประชุมด่วนร่วมกับรองนายกฯ และ รมว. มหาดไทย , รองนายกฯ และ รมว.กลาโหม, รองนายกฯ และ รมว.ดีอี , รมว. ท่องเที่ยว , ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัดกรุงเทพมหานคร , ผบ.สส. , ปลัดกระทรวงทรัพย์ฯ , ปลัดกระทรวงมหาดไทย และหน่วยงานที่เกี่ยวข้อง

นายกรัฐมนตรีได้มีข้อสั่งการดังนี้… pic.twitter.com/OscU8klkB8
— Ing Shin (@ingshin) March 28, 2025

The US Geological Survey and Germany's GFZ centre for geosciences said the midday temblor was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), with an epicenter in Myanmar, according to preliminary reports.

A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, shook the area 12 minutes later. Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings.

A video posted on social media right after the quake showed an apartment building under construction collapsing, but it was not immediately possible to verify its authenticity.

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

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 as the earthquake 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 quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometers (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 were not immediately available from Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war.

(With PTI inputs)