AP
A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
On March 28th, there was a devastating earthquake that killed over 140 people and injured 732 as authorities in Thailand. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which was about 30 miles east of the city of Monywa, struck around lunchtime and was followed by several tremors, including a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.
In Bangkok, rescue teams searched through the rubble of a collapsed high-rise building where 117 people are thought to be trapped. “A section of a mosque toppled in the town of Tuangoo, killing at least three people”, Reuters reported. In the town of Aung Ban, a hotel collapsed to the ground, leaving at least two people dead and about 20 injured. This earthquake created catastrophic and devastating circumstances for the families that were affected.
Myanmar’s military-run government declared a state of emergency in six regions. Before the earthquake, Myanmar was already experiencing a humanitarian crisis along with a years-long civil war that broke out after the military seized power in 2021. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, called on other countries to provide aid and asked residents to donate blood due to the number of injuries. This caused the earthquake to be even more fatal. “That there appear to be more images and information coming out of Thailand than the epicentre in Myanmar is a startling reminder of the military’s crushing of press freedom since the 2021 coup,” Joe Freeman said in a statement.
Freeman went on to say that the earthquake has devastated a country already reeling from a civil war that’s left 3 million residents internally displaced and over a third of the population in dire need of humanitarian assistance. He called on the military to allow “unimpeded access to all humanitarian organizations,” and “This earthquake could not come at a worse time for Myanmar.”
The United Nations allocated $5 million to start relief efforts. Donald Trump, U.S. President, said Friday that America was going to help with the response. “We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake,” said Mohammed Riyas, the International Rescue Committee’s Myanmar director. The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to early reports. Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more damage to the area.
To think that people across the world are going through such a disastrous time is truly brutal. We can only hope that life improves for the people affected by the earthquake and that the countries recover from the damage.
Sources:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/03/28/myanmar-earthquake-buildings-collapse-mandalay/82702014007/
https://apnews.com/article/thailand-earthquake-bangkok-4fce87aced74b1fc0cf260fb5454d353