Burma declares state of emergency after earthquake that killed hundreds

   A 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck north-central Burma (Myanmar) on Friday left hundreds dead and injured in the country, where the military government declared a state of emergency and made an unusual appeal for international help, and also caused casualties in neighboring Thailand.

The tremor was recorded this Friday at 12:50 local time (6:20? GMT), at a depth of 10 kilometers and with the epicenter about 17 kilometers from Mandalay, Burma's second largest city, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

  "All the buildings are completely destroyed (...) It has been chaos," a 40-year-old woman from Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital, one of the areas affected by the earthquake, told journalist.

The Burmese armed forces, which have held power in Burma since the 2021 coup d'état, which plunged the country into semi-anarchy and conflict, have declared a state of emergency in six areas: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Shan, Naypyidaw and Bago.

The junta's spokesman, Zaw Min Tun, told EFE by mobile messaging that there are at least 200 dead and 730 injured in the country, where telecommunications and infrastructure have been severely affected, making it difficult to count victims and rescue them.

  The head of the board, Min Aung Hlaing, said in a speech broadcast on state television that there are at least 144 deaths.

"The death and injury toll is expected to rise," he said.

  The earthquake, the general added, left 96 dead in Naypyidaw, 18 in the central region of Sagaing, and 30 in Kyaukse (in the Mandalay region).

For its part, the United States Geological Survey, which measures seismic activity around the world, declared an orange alert - the second most serious - and pointed out that the death toll may be between 100 and 1,000 people.

In this regard, the military junta made an unusual appeal for international help on Friday after decreeing a state of emergency, the military spokesman confirmed to EFE.

Today's request contrasts with the reaction to other disasters, in which the regime's obstruction of international aid has been denounced.

In 2008, after the impact of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the military authorities at the time were slow to call for assistance, which harmed the victims of a disaster that caused at least 138 thousand deaths.