A massive earthquake struck central Myanmar, prompting the military government to declare a state of emergency and request international humanitarian aid. The 8.2-magnitude quake hit on Friday, March 28, 2024, at around 1 pm local time, with its epicenter just 10 km deep and 17.2 km from the city of Mandalay.
Witnesses told Myanmar Now that the ancient Mandalay palace suffered some damage, while several high-rise buildings in the city collapsed. The over 90-year-old Ava Bridge in the town of Sagaing was also destroyed.
Myanmar’s military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, visited a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw, where many injured people were being treated. The hospital was overwhelmed, with one of the largest hospitals in Naypyidaw being declared a “mass casualty area”.
The quake’s impact was felt beyond Myanmar’s borders, with tremors detected in China’s Yunnan province, where the China Earthquake Networks Center reported a 7.9-magnitude quake.
In neighboring countries, the earthquake was felt in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, the northeastern state of Manipur, and parts of Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka and the city of Chittagong.
Source: cna