Myanmar-Thailand earthquake: Race to find survivors as toll hits 1,700

The search for survivors continues in Myanmar, where some 1,700 people have been confirmed dead after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck on Friday, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

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At least 17 more deaths have been reported in neighbouring Thailand's capital Bangkok, some 1,000km (620 miles) from the epicentre of the quake.

The quake destroyed buildings, bridges and roads across swaths of Myanmar. Many believe the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge due to patchy communications in remote areas.

It hit a nation already in chaos with a civil war that has escalated since the 2021 military coup, which toppled the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and sparked a nationwide armed uprising.

Myanmar's military government yesterday said the 7.7-magnitude quake has left some 1,700 people dead - up from 1,644 reported previously.

Another 3,400 have been injured and more than 300 are missing, it added.

The head of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned the number of fatalities could rise and his administration faced a challenging situation, state media reported.

WFP's Michael Dunford, speaking to Al Jazeera from Naypyidaw, said the agency is about to scale up operations after already doing its first food distribution in the capital.

"The international community is scrambling at the moment," Dunford said.

"There's a need for food, for health, for water and sanitation and of course for shelter many people have lost their housing and are sleeping out because they are too scared to go back into the buildings." " Dunford said relief efforts are being slowed down due to the damaged roads and infrastructure, as well as communications problems.