Rescue teams in Myanmar are racing against time to find survivors after a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country on March 28, unleashing destruction on an unprecedented scale. The quake, the strongest Myanmar has experienced in a century, has claimed over 1,600 lives, left hundreds injured, and reduced buildings to rubble.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake’s epicenter was near Mandalay and triggered at least 15 aftershocks within 10 hours, the strongest measuring 6.7 in magnitude. Additional tremors were recorded the following day, further destabilizing the region.
The force of the quake has been likened to the detonation of 334 atomic bombs, with geologist Jess Phoenix telling CNN that such an event is capable of reshaping entire landscapes. Another seismologist described the impact as a “great knife cut into the Earth.”
The destruction was not limited to Myanmar alone. In neighboring Thailand, 17 people lost their lives in Bangkok, where a 30-storey under-construction skyscraper collapsed under the tremors.
As aftershocks continue and fears of more collapses grow, Myanmar faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.
