Myanmar-Thailand earthquake live updates: Death toll crosses 2,000 in Myanmar

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday.

ByMark Osborne, Jon Haworth, Meredith Deliso, David Brennan, Ivan Pereira, Kevin Shalvey, and Megan Forrester
Last Updated: March 31, 2025, 3:38 PM EDT

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rattled much of Southeast Asia on Friday, resulting in mounting casualties and flattened skyscrapers from Myanmar to Thailand.

The epicenter was in Mandalay, Myanmar, the country's second-largest city. Even Bangkok, some 600 miles away, felt widespread shaking and saw significant damage from the quake -- including the total collapse of a skyscraper under construction.

Map locator where earthquake hit in Myanmar, Mar. 28, 2025.
AP

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Mar 31, 2025, 12:28 pm

Death toll crosses 2,000

Rescue workers are seen working at the collapsed construction building in Chatuchak area during the night on March 28, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images

Casualties are expected to rise as search and rescue efforts are underway in collapsed buildings in Myanmar and Thailand, officials said.

In Myanmar, the death toll has climbed to 2,056, with more than 3,900 people injured and 270 people reported missing, according to the Myanmar Military Junta.

In Bangkok, at least 13 people were killed in a building collapse in Chatuchak, according to the Bangkok Metro Authority.

Mar 28, 2025, 11:08 AM EDT

144 dead, more than 700 injured in Myanmar

At least 144 people have died in Myanmar, according to the first official death toll released by the military government.

Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who has led Myanmar since 2021, said 96 people have died in the Naypyidaw Council Territory, 18 in Sagaing and 30 in Kyaukse. There have also been at least 732 injuries in the country.

People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after an earthquake.
Str/AFP via Getty Images

"Casualties are expected to rise," he said. "Buildings have collapsed in several areas, and rescue operations are underway. I have personally visited some affected sites to assess the situation. I would like to call upon everyone to join hands and support the ongoing rescue missions.

He said a state of emergency has been declared and he has requested international assistance, a rarity for the turbulent country.

Mar 28, 2025, 10:25 AM EDT

Pope sends condolences

Pope Francis, recently released from the hospital following a battle with bilateral pneumonia, sent his condolences to those killed and injured in the earthquake.

Pope Francis appears at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Sunday, March 23, 2025, where he has been treated for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14.
Domenico Stinellis/AP, FILE

"Deeply saddened by the loss of life and widespread devastation caused by the earthquake in Southeast Asia, especially in Myanmar and Thailand, his Holiness Pope Francis offers heartfelt prayers for the souls of the deceased and the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all affected by this tragedy," Cardinal Pietro Parolin said in a telegram.

"His holiness likewise prays that the emergency personnel will be sustained in their care of the injured and displaced by the divine gifts of fortitude and perseverance," it concluded.

Workers embrace near a site of a collapsed building after the tremors of a strong earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025.
Ann Wang/Reuters

-ABC News' Phoebe Natanson

Mar 28, 2025, 10:09 AM EDT

Journalist in Bangkok describes shaking hotel

Marisa Abel, a journalist based in New York, who is vacationing in Bangkok, told ABC News she just got to her hotel, and was napping, when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit.

"I woke up, everything was moving. So I woke up my partner and said, 'Hey, it's an earthquake.'"

She said the motion of the earthquake was like being on a boat, and said she had to walk down 15 flights of stairs to the street below to get to safety. Hotel guests were directed to a park nearby, she said.

"I didn't panic, but I was terrified," Abel said. "The people in the hotel was really, really helpful. So they're making us like to feel safe. ... This area I was in, nobody was panicking, but, like, people was really concerned."

-ABC News' George Suarez and Othon Leyva

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