A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.7 centred in the Sagaing region near the Myanmar city of Mandalay caused extensive damage in that country and also shook neighbouring Thailand on Friday.

A phenomenon called liquefaction, which causes the ground to slump like quicksand, led to significant damage after the Myanmar earthquake. The risk of aftershock remains high.

Remarkable rescue stories from Myanmar's earthquake ruins are keeping hope alive, but aid agencies say time is running out fast, and the need for help is vast.

The earthquake, one of the most powerful to hit Myanmar in a century, caused widespread devastation across a region inhabited by 28 million people.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who has long been treated like a pariah on the global stage, is visiting Bangkok barely a week after an earthquake that killed at least 3,000 people in his country.

Extreme heat and heavy rain in Myanmar could cause disease outbreaks among earthquake survivors camping in the open, global aid bodies warned on Thursday, complicating rescue efforts made difficult by a civil war,

The earthquake’s epicenter was near the country’s second-largest city Mandalay, and so far the military-run government has reported 2,065 people killed, more than 3,900 injured, and 270 missing.

The head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum in Naypyitaw, that 2,719 people have been found dead, with 4,521 others injured and 441 missing, Myanmar’s Western News online portal reported.

So far, more than 1,600 people have been reported dead and more than 3,400 missing but the numbers are expected to rise.