Now onto some breaking news from Southeast Asia, where a powerful earthquake has left devastation in its wake.
A strong earthquake shocked Southeast Asia on Friday, bringing down a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok and collapsing buildings in neighboring Myanmar’s second-largest city, lives hang in the balance, and the region is once again reminded of its vulnerability.
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According to Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine, at least one person was killed and dozens of workers were rescued from under the rubble of the skyscraper.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.7, struck central Myanmar earlier on Friday, March 28, 2025, near the city of Sagaing.
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In Myanmar, the destruction was immediate; roads buckled, ceilings caved in, and several buildings in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, collapsed. Emergency teams are scrambling to rescue those trapped under the rubble, but the full extent of the casualties remains unclear.
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According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the quake of 7.7 magnitude and at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles) struck at lunchtime and was followed by a powerful aftershock.
Myanmar, part of the seismically active Sunda megathrust, has a long history of devastating earthquakes. In 2016, a 6.8-magnitude quake damaged ancient temples in Bagan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Yet, despite these warnings from history, the country’s infrastructure remains woefully unprepared for such disasters.
