Myanmar was rocked by a devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake, the strongest earthquake in Myanmar in at least 100 years, with the epicenter just 10 miles outside of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. Significant impacts were also felt in the capital Naypyidaw; a state of emergency was declared there as well as in Sagaing, Magwe, and Bago Regions and Shan State. Tremors were felt hundreds of miles away, including by all of Myanmar’s neighboring countries, with the quake toppling an under-construction high rise in Bangkok. Friday’s earthquake did not occur in a vacuum but on top of a crisis that has continued to accelerate in the wake of the February 2021 military coup. Following the November 2020 elections, win hich Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept in a landslide, the Myanmar military leveled unsubstantiated allegations of fraud against the NLD, which they used as justification to launch the coup. Opposition to military rule that started with peaceful protests and nationwide strikes turned to armed resistance after the military opened fire on demonstrations.
In Myanmar, A Tragedy Atop A Crisis (Steve Ross, Stimson Center)
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