Death toll in Myanmar earthquake rises to 1,644

The death toll from the powerful earthquake in Myanmar has reached 1,644, the country’s authorities said Saturday, even as rescue workers raced against time in search of survivors in the ruins of apartments buildings, monasteries and mosques.

The 7.7 magnitude temblor, which struck just outside Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, on Friday afternoon, sent shock waves around Southeast Asia and even beyond. But it was particularly devastating to areas near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north-south through the center of Myanmar, destroying buildings and roads and downing power lines.

The number of dead and injured in Myanmar, a country ruled by a military junta that has restricted contact with the outside world, was expected to rise, though it may be months before the full scale of the devastation is understood. Modeling by the US Geological Survey suggested the number of deaths was likely to surpass 10,000.

Mandalay, a city of around 1.5 million people, was hard hit. People were stocking up on fuel and food in preparation for days without power, and patients were camped outside the city’s overcrowded main hospital. The city’s streets were jammed Saturday with ambulances heading to a hospital two hours away, where there was more room.

Volunteers rushed to Mandalay to try to help find survivors, even as hopes dimmed. Ko Thien Win, a rescue worker who rushed to the site of a destroyed apartment building in Mandalay, pleaded for skilled help and heavy machinery, such as excavators. “Yesterday we found some survivors, but today the chances are much lower,” he said.

The disaster is compounding the monumental challenges facing Myanmar’s military rulers, who overthrew an elected government in 2021, and questions are swirling about whether they will manage to stay in power. The junta has lost ground to rebels amid a bloody civil war that left nearly 20 million of the country’s roughly 54 million people without enough food or shelter even before the quake, according to U.N. officials.

On Friday evening, junta fighter jets dropped bombs on a rebel-held village. There were no casualties, but residents were stunned that the military would resume attacks in the immediate wake of the disaster. “I just can’t believe they did airstrikes at the same time as the earthquake,” said Lway Yal Oo, a resident of the bombed village.

Here’s what else to know:

— Aid complications: The earthquake prompted an extraordinary appeal from Myanmar’s government for outside aid. Some international aid started to arrive, with China and India sending blankets, food and teams to help search for survivors. But the junta is under heavy sanctions from the United States, Britain and others, and its long isolation, internal instability and major logistical hurdles are expected to complicate the global response.

— Shock waves: The shaking was felt as far away as Bangladesh, Vietnam and southern China, where state news media said people were injured in the city of Ruili, near the Myanmar border. Myanmar is in one of the world’s most seismically active regions.

— Building collapse: The quake caused a tall building under construction in Bangkok — 600 miles from the epicenter — to collapse in a cloud of broken concrete, shattered glass and billowing dust. Rescue workers in Bangkok were scouring for survivors at the site of the building, where eight people were confirmed dead and scores more were thought to be buried in the rubble.