According to official figures, more than 1.600 people have died in Myanmar, while more than 3.400 have been injured.
However, the true extent of the disaster is only just becoming apparent. Houses, buildings and bridges have collapsed, roads have cracked. Rescuers talk of pulling people out from under the rubble with their bare hands.
"I've never experienced anything like this before. The strong tremors made me dizzy. There was no damage to my house, but my children were very scared and are still disoriented," a security guard who was on patrol at the time of the earthquake told Reuters.
It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Myanmar in decades, geologists said. The US Geological Survey warned that the death toll in the affected areas could exceed 10.000.
The true extent of the disaster is expected to be apparent only in a few weeks, the US service said.
The earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday morning local time can be compared to the one in Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, in which at least 60 people lost their lives.
Many areas in Myanmar inaccessible
This war-torn country will not be able to cope with the disaster alone, Henry Braun, who is the Myanmar director of the German humanitarian organization Velthungerhilfe, told ARD.
His organization is now trying to find out what the real situation is on the ground and prepare to provide assistance, for example by delivering drinking water and providing temporary accommodation.
However, it is difficult for humanitarian organizations to carry out such operations, because not all areas are accessible due to the civil war, Brown pointed out.
The opposition in Myanmar has announced a unilateral ceasefire during rescue operations. All attacks will be suspended for two weeks, the National Unity Government (NUG) announced. The alternative government was formed after a military coup in 2021. The only exceptions to the ceasefire, according to the NUG, will be defensive operations.
Dead and missing in Thailand, material damage in China
The death toll in the Thai capital Bangkok has risen to at least 17. More than 80 people are still missing, most of them likely buried under the rubble of an unfinished 30-story skyscraper that collapsed during the earthquake.
People gathered there in the hope that rescuers would find survivors. The search is also being carried out with the help of sniffer dogs.
In China, one of Myanmar's neighbors, the earthquake hit the southwestern province of Yunnan hardest. In the city of Ruili, about 300 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake in Myanmar, according to state media reports, nearly 850 houses and buildings were damaged and two people were injured.
Help is coming from abroad
Several countries have announced assistance to Myanmar, after the military junta officially requested international assistance yesterday.
Although Thailand itself was hit by the earthquake, the government said it had sent special teams to Myanmar to search for missing people and assess the extent of the damage.
The German organization Malteser International has sent an emergency team to the affected areas.
China has, according to state media, sent several teams of the Disaster Management Service with special equipment to Myanmar.
India has also sent aid. According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, an Indian Army plane landed in Yangon carrying tents, blankets, generators and medicines. The aid shipment was accompanied by a rescue team and a search and rescue team, as well as a medical team.
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