YANGON, Myanmar — A powerful earthquake that toppled homes in eastern Myanmar killed more than 70 people, and there were fears Friday that the toll would mount as conditions in more remote areas became known.
The Thursday night quake, measured at magnitude 6.8 by the U.S. Geological Survey, was centered just north of the town of Tachileik in Shan state, near the Thai border. It was felt hundreds of miles away in the Thai capital, Bangkok, and the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi.
Myanmar state radio announced Friday that 73 people had been killed and 111 injured. It said 390 houses, 14 Buddhist monasteries and nine government buildings were damaged.
Significant damage was reported in the villages around Tachileik, including to bridges and roads, which developed massive fissures.
A U.N. official said a small hospital and bridge were damaged in the nearby town of Tarlay, making it difficult to access the town. The private relief agency World Vision said water tanks and wells also were damaged, making water scarce.
On the Thai side of the border, one woman was killed in Mae Sai when a wall fell on her, according to Thai police, but damage was minimal.
The U.N. official said medicine would be sent to the affected areas as soon as possible along with an assessment team in cooperation with the Myanmar Red Cross Society. He said 95,000 people were estimated to live near the quake’s epicenter, but it was unknown how many suffered damage from it.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Myanmar’s government frowns on giving unauthorized information to the media.
Most of rural Myanmar, one of Asia’s poorest countries, is underdeveloped, with poor communications and other infrastructure, and minimal rescue and relief capacity. The country’s military government is also usually reluctant to release information about disasters.
