Myanmar earthquake: Strong tremors were felt in southwest China’s Yunnan province after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck neighbouring Myanmar.
While no casualties or extensive damage was reported from the province, a rooftop water tank in Ruili City was damaged during the earthquake. Follow live updates.
Videos shared on social media showed water gushing down, sweeping people who were in its way. HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
“I felt a mild shake first, so I went out of the building to the street. Then, a strong shake was felt, and I can see the building was shaking too,” Ge Zhaolan, 45, a merchant at a shopping mall, told China Daily.
He told China Daily that the rooftop water tank on the 30th floor of the building had sprung a substantial leak. “I was hit by the water too, but it was not as terrifying as the video showed,” he said.
State-run Xinhua reported that people in the provincial capital of Kunming came or stayed outdoors to escape danger when they felt the earthquake at 2:20 pm local time.
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Li Zhihao, a resident of Jinghong city in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Myanmar, told the news agency that he felt a tremor lasting nearly one minute.
Myanmar earthquake
A massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on Friday, accompanied by multiple aftershocks, causing widespread destruction and at least 1,000 deaths.
The earthquake left wide cracks on roads, brought down buildings, and sent tremors across neighbouring countries, including China, Thailand, Vietnam and parts of India also.
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The Myanmar earthquake also led to the deaths of at least six people in Thailand, where a skyscraper collapsed in Bangkok’s Chatuchak market. Over 80 persons are feared trapped in the rubble.
The epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was located near Mandalay, at a depth of 10 kilometres, striking at 12:50 pm local time (0620 GMT), according to the USGS.
A strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock occurred soon after, followed by a dozen more tremblers.
