A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive dama ge. At least eight died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed.The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar 's second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war and information is tightly controlled.The head of Myanmars military government said in the televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured.The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said.Photos from the capital of Naypyidaw showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake, and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble.RELATED STORY | Severe weather blamed for at least 39 deaths as system moves to East CoastMyanmar's government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Images of buckled and cracked roads in Mandalay and damaged highways as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis.Near Bangkoks popular Chatuchak market, a 33-story building under construction, with a crane on top, crumpled into a cloud of dust, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media.The sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the streets, leaving some of the citys already congested streets gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down.While the area where the quake struck is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so big and it is rare for them to be felt in the Thai capital, which sits on a river delta and is at moderate risk for quakes.April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok, initially didnt even realize it was an earthquake, the first shed ever experienced. I just thought I was dizzy, she said.She and her colleagues ran downstairs from the 10th floor of their building and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in.Crane-topped building collapsed in a cloud of dustIn Bangkok, a construction worker was killed when rubble from the collapsing building site hit his truck and another was crushed by the falling debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters.Another seven were found alive at the site but an unknown number remain under the rubble, which is currently still too unstable for emergency crews to start looking, he said.A dramatic video of the building's collapse near Bangkoks popular Chatuchak market circulated on social media showed the multi-story building with a crane on top toppling into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran.Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks.The U.S. Geological Survey and Germanys GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports.Screaming and panic as buildings swayedThe sound of sirens echoed throughout central Bangkok and vehicles filled the street, leaving some of the citys already congested streets gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway were shut down.City hall declared the city a disaster area to facilitate interagency aid and emergency help. The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkoks city center, at first didnt even realize it was an earthquake, the first shed ever experienced. I just thought I was dizzy, she said.RELATED STORY | South Carolina woman arrested in connection to wildfire near Myrtle BeachShe and her colleagues ran downstairs from the tenth floor of their building, Tonson Tower, and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in.All of a sudden, the whole building began to move. Immediately, there was screaming and a lot of panic, said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok's many malls shopping for camera equipment.I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators, lots of banging and crashing inside the mall.Like Morton, thousands of people poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping malls, high rises and apartment buildings along Bangkoks busy Sukhumvit Road.Many were on phones trying to reach loved ones as others sought shade from the hot early afternoon sun. Others stared up fearfully at the tall buildings in the densely packed part of the city.I got outside and then looked up at the building and the whole building was moving, dust and debris, it was pretty intense, Morton said. Lots of chaos.Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved back and forth from the shockwaves.She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok, she said.Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.The next thing, everybody came on the street, so there was a lot of screaming and panicking, which obviously made it a lot worse, he said.As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool.When I saw the building, oh my God, thats when ... it hit me, he said. There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really.Bridge collapses in Myanmar and injuries reported in ChinaIn Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city and close to the epicenter, the earthquake damaged part of the former royal palace and buildings, according to videos and photos released on Facebook social media.While the area is prone to earthquakes, it is generally sparsely populated, and most houses are low-rise structures.In the Sagaing region just southwest of Mandalay, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmars largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground, and some homes.To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance.The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldnt stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.A resident of Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, told The Paper that her ceiling lamp was swinging wildly and the shaking lasted more than 10 seconds.Thailands Department of Disaster Prevention said the quake was felt in almost all regions of the country.Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra called an emergency meeting to assess the impact of the quake. ...read more read less