Details known | Epicenter about 50 km east of the city of Monywa at a shallow depth of 10 km;  107 confirmed deaths, several buildings have collapsed

Agencies BANGKOK

An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 struck central Myanmar on Friday,  the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, causing hundreds of people to pour out of swaying buildings in Bangkok, 1,400km away. A second quake, with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, shook the area 12 minutes later.

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  about 50 km east of the city of Monywa in Myanmar.  Preliminary reports said 107 people were dead and 350 injured. However, the toll  is expected  to be higher.

Tremors were also felt in China’s south-west Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.  Tremors were also felt in Imphal in north-east India and as far Kolkata in West Bengal. Thailand’s capital has been declared a disaster area. The Bangkok governor has been placed in charge of coordinating the disaster response,according to Reuters.

Thailand's Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country, the Associated Press reported. Reports from Bangkok said  a 30-storey under -construction skyscraper collapsed in the city’s north. Thailand’s defence minister Phumtham Wechayachai  said  90 people were missing and three were  confirmed dead at the site where a high-rise building under construction collapsed when the  powerful earthquake hit the capital.

Water from high-rise rooftop pools in Bangkok sloshed over the side as they shook, and debris fell from many buildings. In Myanmar, the quake caused the collapse of buildings in five cities and towns, as well as a railway bridge and a road bridge on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway, state media said. "We all ran out of the house as everything started shaking," a resident in Mandalay told Reuters. "I witnessed a five-storey building collapse in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town is out on the road and no one dares to go back inside buildings."

Myanmar's ruling military declared a state of emergency in multiple regions. "The state will make inquiries on the situation quickly and conduct rescue operations along with providing humanitarian aid," it said on the Telegram messaging app. The junta seized power in a 2021 coup that led to a civil war, and has been isolated internationally. Eight people were killed and  several were buried under the rubble after an under-construction building collapsed in  in Pyi Gyi Tagon township of Mandalay, an eyewitness told Guardian Mandalay is Myanmar’s second largest city.

“The whole of Mandalay city was affected by the earthquake. The rescue teams and hospitals are now overrun. We are managing with the resources we have in the neighbourhood,” an eyewitness, who asked not to be named, said. The Red Cross said downed power lines are adding to challenges for their teams trying to reach Mandalay and Sagaing regions and southern Shan state.

“Initial reports from the ground suggest the earthquake has caused significant damage,” the Red Cross said, reports the Associated Press (AP). “Information on humanitarian needs is still being gathered.” Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman told the Guardian that  the scale of the disaster in Myanmar may not become clear for some time, given that many media outlets are banned and internet access restricted.