Newsday columnist caught in deadly Myanmar quake — 'I woke up to chaos'

“I woke up to the chaos and had to high-tail it (flee) out of the building!”

These were the words of Newsday's Business Day magazine columnist Keron Rose as he described his experience during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake which rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand around midday (1 am TT time) on March 28.

According to the Associated Press, at least 144 people were killed and 730 others injured in Myanmar, while in Thailand, authorities said ten people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing, from three construction sites, including a high-rise, which collapsed.

On his Facebook page, Rose who lives in a high-rise condominium in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, shared his experience at 3 am TT time.

“A 7.7 earthquake just rocked Bangkok. This was a movie!!! Buildings shaking, roof cracking and caving in. I was sleeping and woke up to the chaos...had to high-tail it out the building! I'm safe, but I ain't lying...I've never experienced something like this!

“The craziest thing is, Bangkok doesn't have natural disasters and this earthquake is really a sign of climate change,” Rose said.

He later posted a video from across the street at 8.30 am TT time, showing water cascading down the side of his condominium for several seconds.

He said, “The glass and guard rails all flew off the roof from the water (which was cascading from a damaged rooftop pool) bashing against it.” People in the video could be heard shouting and screaming.

A few hours later, he thanked his followers for their support and messages and reiterated that he was safe.

“Also, a 7.7 earthquake? It's all kinda things on our bingo cards this year. Now I got an earthquake story for the grandkids lol.”

Another Trinidadian also spoke of her experience via social media. She said she ran down 27 flights of stairs during the earthquake to escape from the building she was in when the tremor began.

“(It was) INSANE! Dem people must be never hear so much "Jesus" in dey whole entire life. My husband and I are safe praise God, because apparently, Jesus cannot ignore He child when she shamelessly bawled out He name whilst she's in crisis.”

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne told Newsday his ministry had received no reports of deaths or injuries of TT nationals due to the earthquake in Myanmar which is on the Asian continent and is bordered by Bangladesh on its left and China, Laos and Thailand on its right flank.

“The ministry continues to monitor the conditions closely, and we remain in touch with several members of our diaspora in that region.

“We have 15 TT nationals living in Thailand who are registered with the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs via the TT Embassy in Beijing. Our embassy has engaged in communication with them and has provided additional guidance and modalities for follow-up should assistance be required,” Dr Browne said.

The Associated Press reported the epicentre was close to Mandalay, Myanmar’s capital, and there were several aftershocks, including one which measured 6.4.

It said several buildings collapsed in Mandalay, including one of the city’s largest monasteries. Photos from the capital city of Naypyidaw showed rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble of multiple buildings used to house civil servants.

Head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said the death toll and injuries are expected to rise.

He said the country was willing to accept aid. The UN has allocated US$5 million to start relief efforts.

Myanmar’s government said blood donations were in high demand in the hardest-hit areas.

Images of buckled and cracked roads and reports of a collapsed bridge and a burst dam were also shared on social media. AP said there were concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a humanitarian crisis.

International Rescue Committee’s Myanmar director Mohammed Riyas said, “We fear it may be weeks before we understand the full extent of destruction caused by this earthquake.”

Myanmar’s English-language state newspaper, Global New Light of Myanmar, said five cities and towns had seen building collapses and two bridges had fallen, including one on a key highway between Mandalay.

AP said Myanmar is in an active earthquake belt, though many of the temblors happen in sparsely populated areas, not cities like those affected Friday. The US Geological Survey estimated that the death toll could top 1,000.

In Thailand, a 33-story building under construction crumpled into a cloud of dust near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media. Vehicles on a nearby freeway came to a stop.

Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said “It’s a great tragedy,” after viewing the site, adding that there was hope that there were still survivors.

The city’s elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down.

The US Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow ten kilometres (6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage.

AP said to the northeast, according to Chinese media reports, the earthquake was felt in China’s Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and caused damage and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar.

ABOUT MYANMAR

It was formerly called Burma and is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.

Yangon, formerly Rangoon, is the country's largest city and is home to bustling markets, numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which contains Buddhist relics and dates to the 6th century.

Since 2021, the Myanmar civil war, also known as the Burmese civil war, has been ongoing. It began following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies, which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 coup and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests. A military junta has ruled the country since the 2021 coup.