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 29, 2025, 2:13 PM EDT

Myanmar resistance group announces partial ceasefire

Myanmar's National Unity Government has announced it will implement a "two-week pause in offensive military operations" in areas affected by the earthquake starting March 30.

PHOTO: This frame grab taken from state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) video footage released on March 28, 2025 shows Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing making a speech in Naypyidaw.
This frame grab taken from state-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) video footage released on March 28, 2025 shows Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing making a speech in Naypyidaw. The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand passed 1,000 on March 29, as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity.
Myanmar Radio and Television/AFP via Getty Images

The National Unity Government is the representative body of the ousted civilian government that was overthrown in the 2021 military coup, which led to the ongoing civil war.

The military government in Myanmar has not made a similar announcement.

Mar 29, 2025, 11:28 AM EDT

American couple talks about surviving quake

Garret Briere and his wife told ABC News they never could have imagined that their first vacation to Thailand ended up being one of the most terrifying experiences of their lives.

The couple from Washington state were in the mall across the street from the 34-story building when they saw it implode and crash to the ground.

Rescue personnel work at the site of a building that collapsed, following a strong earthquake, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 29, 2025.
Patipat Janthong/Reuters

"We ran out of the building because it started shaking," Garret said. "I grabbed my wife’s hand and I said, 'Don’t let go.' Immediately, we were just covered in dust and debris, and we couldn’t see, and there were thousands of people just in a panic."

It took just several seconds for the entire building to be reduced to a 7-story high pile of rubble, the couple said.

-ABC News' Brit Clennett, Karson Yiu, Gamay Palacios and Preechaya Rassadanukul

Mar 29, 2025, 10:30 AM EDT

Death toll rises to 1,002 in Myanmar, 9 in Thailand

The death toll in Thailand from Friday’s earthquake has increased to nine, according to the country’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Another 1,002 have died in Myanmar.

Another nine people remain injured and 101 others are still missing.

The earthquake and its aftershocks caused damage across 13 Thai provinces as well as in Bangkok, the agency said.

A 30-story building that was under construction collapsed in the Thai capital on Friday when the powerful quake struck the region.

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Mar. 28, 2025.
Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Search and rescue efforts were ongoing at the scene, with crews detecting 15 signs of life beneath the rubble on Saturday, according to Thailand’s National Institute of Emergency Medicine.

-ABC News' Morgan Windsor

Mar 28, 2025, 3:51 PM EDT

Rubio says US willing to help, but not actively assisting yet

Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted about the potential U.S. response to the earthquake, and seemed to suggest the president meant the U.S. was willing to help rather than actively assisting.

"My prayers go out to the people of Burma and Thailand who are impacted by the earthquake," he wrote. "We've been in contact with these countries and, as @POTUS said, stand ready to provide assistance."

Rubio also confirmed the State Department’s teams in the impacted countries were safe and accounted for.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has suspended nonemergency consular services for the time being. The U.S. mission to Thailand has not reported any disruption in services.
-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

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