A massive earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, causing generalized destruction and more than 1,600 causalities.
The Red Cross said that several cities in the center of Myanmar were damaged during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, including Mandalay, where the buildings overturned, the roads are fractured and a bridge collapsed. The rumbles were also felt in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The Military Council of Myanmar said that the country’s number of deaths reached 1,644 and had more than 3,400 civilians injured, according to the BBC Burmane Information Service. On Friday, an alert issued by the US Geological Survey estimated that the number of deaths would exceed 10,000.
The earthquake has prompted several countries to offer humanitarian aid, notably Russia and China. President Donald Trump said the United States would also help Myanmar, the point of sale reported.
The satellite images collected by Maxar, an American space technology company, show the Mandalay region before and after the earthquake.
A district of huts and buildings in the second largest city in Myanmar, Mandalay
Stephen Wood / Maxar
About 1.5 million people live in Mandalay, where the United Nations said the Internet connection was currently decreasing.
A large part of the Myanmar has been involved in a civil war since 2021 when the military authorities have organized a government coup. Despite the current tensions, the soldiers asked for international emergency assistance.
The National Unity Group, which opposes the Military Government of Myanmar, announced a temporary break on military offenses, excluding defensive actions, to help save operations.
The districts with dozens of buildings were completely destroyed in Mandalay after the earthquake
Stephen Wood / Maxar
More than 2,400 buildings were damaged in the middle of the earthquake, the United Nations said.
“About 1,690 houses, 670 monasteries, 60 schools and three bridges would be damaged, with concerns for the structural integrity of large -scale dams,” said the organization.
The United Nations said that health partners will deploy mobile surgical and medical teams – in addition to field hospitals – to affected areas “to offer life and economic medical interventions to victims of earthquakes”.
Mamamuni’s pagoda is in the city of Mandalay
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The Buddhist pagoda is in Mandalay and is known to house a large statue of golden Buddha.
The rescue teams are looking for more than 100 missing monks in the debris of the Mahamuni pagoda, indicate local reports
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The pagoda has undergone damage to the earthquake.
More than 270 monks were gathered at the Mahamuni pagoda in Mandalay when the earthquake began, according to Nation Thailand, a daily newspaper in English on the verge of Thailand.
An athletic field area in Mandalay.
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The National Government of the National Unity of Myanmar declared in a press release published on X that “many houses, buildings, pagodas, mosques, temples, schools and bridges have collapsed”, resulting in thousands of deaths.
Pagodas and collapsed sports fields may now be used as possible relief zone
Stephen Wood / Maxar
Several countries, including Russia and China, have sent help efforts to Myanmar, reported the Associated Press.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination said that $ 5 million had been allocated to “vital aid”, according to the AP report.
The ma shi kha na pagoda in sagaing, Myanmar before the earthquake
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The Buddhist pagoda is in Sagaing, a city east of Mandalay.
The ma shi kha na pagoda and the surrounding buildings collapsed
Stephen Wood / Maxar
After the earthquake, the Associated Press reported that the Military Government of Myanmar had made three air strikes in the country. The United Nations said an air strike had an impact on the sagaing region.
A bridge over the Irrawaddy river before the earthquake.
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The Irrawaddy river separates the Sagaing region and the Mandalay region in Myanmar.
The inwa bridge collapsed after the earthquake
Stephen Wood / Maxar
The earthquake caused the bridge collapse in the Irrawaddy river and a fracture in several places.