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, 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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