Strong earthquake rocks Thailand capital of Bangkok, prompting evacuations from swaying buildings

A view of people who evacuated from buildings following earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked the Thailand capital of Bangkok on Friday (March 28, 2025), causing buildings to sway.

The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ centre for geosciences said the midday temblor was a shallow 10 kilometres (6.2 miles), with an epicentres in neighbouring Myanmar, according to preliminary reports reports. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1:30 pm and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok. They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook. The epicentre of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa. There were no immediate reports of the effect of the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war.