BBC Burmese ServiceAn enormous earthquake has hit central Myanmar.
The magnitude-7.7 tremor was felt elsewhere, together with in Thailand and south-west China.
Greater than 1,000 have died and greater than 2,000 have been injured, though it’s tough to acquire correct data.
Here’s what we all know to this point.
The place did the earthquake strike?
The earthquake’s epicentre was situated 16km (10 miles) north-west of Myanmar’s metropolis Sagaing, the US Geological Survey (USGS) stated.
That is additionally close to Myanmar’s second-largest metropolis, Mandalay, with a inhabitants of about 1.5 million individuals – and about 100km (62 miles) north of the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The primary earthquake struck round 12:50 native time (06:20 GMT) on Friday, in line with the USGS. A second earthquake struck 12 minutes later, with a magnitude of 6.4.
The quake’s epicentre was 18km (11.1 miles) south of Myanmar’s metropolis Sagaing.
Which areas have been affected?
In Myanmar, there are reviews of roads buckling within the capital along with injury to buildings throughout the nation.
The ruling junta stated 1,591 homes have been broken in Mandalay area, the epicentre of the earthquake.
Robust tremors have been additionally felt elsewhere, together with in Thailand and south-west China.
Round 100 development employees are unaccounted for and 6 useless after an unfinished high-rise constructing collapsed a whole lot of miles away from the epicentre, within the Thai capital Bangkok, in line with native authorities officers.
Rescue officers on the website stated they detected at the very least 15 individuals alive however very deep beneath the rubble, round 5m to 10m.
A video additionally confirmed a rooftop pool in Bangkok spilling over the edges of a swaying constructing.
How lethal was it?
Based on the nation’s navy, the dying toll from the earthquake now stands at 1,007.
Lots of the fatalities have been in its second-largest metropolis of Mandalay.
There are individually 2,389 individuals injured and 30 lacking.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with one rescue staff in Mandalay saying they have been “digging individuals out with our naked arms”.
How arduous is it to search out out what’s occurring in Myanmar?
Getting data out of Myanmar, previously referred to as Burma, is tough.
Myanmar has been dominated by a navy junta since a coup in 2021, making entry to data problematic.
The state controls nearly all native radio, tv, print and on-line media. Web use can be restricted.
Cellular traces within the affected areas have been patchy for the reason that quake struck, however tens of hundreds of individuals additionally dwell with out electrical energy, making it robust for the BBC to speak with people on the bottom.
Overseas journalists are additionally hardly ever allowed to enter formally attributable to a scarcity of press freedom.
What causes earthquakes?
The Earth’s crust is made up of separate bits, referred to as plates, that nestle alongside one another.
These plates usually attempt to transfer however are prevented by the friction of rubbing up towards an adjoining one.
However generally the stress builds till one plate out of the blue jerks throughout, inflicting the floor to maneuver.
They’re measured on a scale referred to as the Second Magnitude Scale (Mw). This has changed the higher identified Richter scale, now thought-about outdated and fewer correct.
The quantity attributed to an earthquake represents a mixture of the space the fault line has moved and the power that moved it.
A tremor of two.5 or much less normally can’t be felt, however will be detected by devices. Quakes of as much as 5 are felt and trigger minor injury. The Myanmar earthquake at 7.7 is assessed as main and normally causes severe injury, because it has on this occasion.
Something above 8.0 causes catastrophic injury and may completely destroy communities at its centre.
Is it protected to journey to Myanmar, Thailand or Laos?
The UK’s Overseas, Commonwealth & Improvement Workplace (FCDO) has warned about the potential of a number of sturdy aftershocks in locations affected by the earthquake.
It has suggested individuals within the space, or vacationers planning to journey to Myanmar, Thailand or Laos, to watch native media and observe the recommendation of native authorities and tour operators.
The FCDO has additionally beforehand issued recommendation towards all journey to components of Myanmar and all however important journey to components of Thailand and Laos.
Myanmar’s safety state of affairs “might deteriorate at quick discover and the navy regime can introduce journey restrictions at any time” amid an “more and more risky” battle, it stated.
The FCDO’s warning for components of Thailand is “attributable to common assaults within the provinces by the border with Malaysia” and its recommendation for Laos pertains to “intermittent assaults on infrastructure and armed clashes with anti-government teams” in Xaisomboun province.
How does this examine with different giant earthquakes?
This earthquake and its aftershocks have been comparatively shallow – about 10km in depth.
Which means the influence on the floor is prone to have been extra devastating than a deeper earthquake, with buildings shaken a lot more durable and extra prone to collapse.
On 26 December 2004, one of many largest earthquakes ever recorded struck off the coast of Indonesia, triggering a tsunami that swept away complete communities across the Indian Ocean.
The 9.1 magnitude quake killed about 228,000 individuals.
The biggest ever earthquake registered 9.5 and was recorded in Chile in 1960.