Watch: Rescuers search for survivors
We’ve been telling you about the rescue workers sifting through rubble in an attempt to find survivors after yesterday’s earthquake.
Watch the video below as those efforts continue for a second day in Myanmar…
China to provide $13.77m in earthquake aid
We’ve been reporting on the international support that has started arriving in Myanmar after yesterday’s earthquake (see 7.53am post).
There’s now more detail we can bring you on the aid China will be providing.
Its embassy said it will supply Myanmar with $13.77m (£10.64m) worth of aid, including tents, blankets, emergency medical kits and food and water, with the first batch arriving on Monday.
Earlier, we told you a Chinese rescue team had arrived in Myanmar’s former capital Yangon.
China’s President Xi Jinping has also sent a message of condolence to the country’s leader Min Aung Hlaing after the earthquake, and, according to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, they have spoken on the phone.
What are the main challenges for rescue workers?
As we have been reporting, rescuers are working to shift rubble in their search for survivors – but what are the main challenges they are facing?
The lack of physical access to the affected areas is proving to be the main challenge so far, Dr Kyi Minn, national director at World Vision Myanmar has said.
He told our presenter Anna Jones “we cannot go to Mandalay by road because the highway is also damaged”.
Minn said the temporary closure of the airport in Mandalay poses another big challenge.
“It’s difficult to send the relief items immediately,” he added.
“So we have to find an alternative option to provide the relief to the affected areas.”
Watch the full interview in the video below.
Eyewitness: Bangkok felt like a city caught off guard when chaos erupted with earthquake
By Cordelia Lynch, Asia correspondent
Bangkok felt like it erupted into chaos when the tremors hit.
No one knew what was happening and there was no warning.
In a city where lives are lived, there were suddenly incongruous sights in the sky – pools overflowing, high-rise walkways connecting expensive apartments broken apart, and huddles of confused and scared people outside offices.
The busy skytrain that millions rely on in Thailand’s capital was shut down, bringing the city to a grinding halt and people struggling to move around.
International support starts to arrive in Myanmar
As rescue workers tackle the aftermath of the earthquake for a second day, international support has started to arrive in Myanmar.
A Chinese rescue team arrived in Myanmar’s former capital Yangon, while Russia, India, Malaysia and Singapore said they would send planeloads of relief supplies and personnel to the country.
“We will continue to monitor the developments and more aid will follow,” India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
South Korea has said it would provide an initial $2m in humanitarian aid through international organisations, while the US confirmed it will also provide some assistance.
In pictures: Rescuers search for survivors in Thailand
Rescue workers are continuing their search for survivors after yesterday’s earthquake.
The pictures below show machinery being used to pull rubble away at the site of collapsed buildings in Bangkok.
More than 1,000 killed and 2,300 injured
More detail to bring you now on the number of people killed after yesterday’s powerful earthquake in Myanmar.
The country’s military government says 1,002 people have now been killed with 2,376 others injured.
Neighbouring Thailand was also affected by the quake, leaving eight people dead, eight injured and 79 missing.
China’s President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Myanmar’s leader Min Aung Hlaing after the earthquake, and, according to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar, they have spoken on the phone.
Welcome back
Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage.
It’s just gone 7am in the UK, 1.30pm in Myanmar – here’s a brief summary of the past 24 hours before we resume our updates:
- The number of people killed in Myanmar following a powerful earthquake has risen to 1,002, with 2,376 others injured, according to the country’s military government;
- The earthquake happened at around 6.20am UK time yesterday, and struck around 20km northeast of the city Mandalay at a depth of 10km;
- Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced a state of emergency has been declared in the country;
- The full extent of death, injury and destruction remains unclear as rescue teams continue to search for survivors.
We’re pausing our live coverage
It’s just turned midnight in Myanmar, around 11 hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the central of the country, with tremors felt as far away as Bangkok and aftershocks in China.
The total number killed that we know so far in both Myanmar and Thailand is 153, though the death toll is expected to rise.
Here’s a brief summary of the key lines today:
- The earthquake happened at around 6.20am UK time, and struck around 20km northeast of Mandalay at a depth of 10km;
- The quake struck without warning in Bangkok, and caused an under-construction building to collapse, killing at least eight;
- A state of emergency has been declared in Thailand, prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra announced;
- Myanmar’s ruling military junta said in a late-night update that at least 144 people had died in the country;
- The full extent of death, injury and destruction wrought by the earthquake remains unclear, and the number of dead does not appear to include anyone from the Mandalay region – one of the worst affected by the disaster.
Thank you for following our live coverage.
Read our latest story on the earthquake below:
UN mobilising to help people hit by earthquake
The United Nations is mobilising in Southeast Asia to help those in need following the earthquake, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
“The government of Myanmar has asked for international support and our team in Myanmar is already in contact in order to fully mobilise our resources in the region to support the people of Myanmar,” Guterres said.
“But of course there are other countries impacted. The epicentre is in Myanmar, and Myanmar is the weakest country in this present situation.”
