Earthquake shakes Bangkok: People run out onto the streets, water splashes out of swimming pools; watch viral video

A strong 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Thai capital Friday, causing buildings to sway.

Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the midday temblor was a shallow 10 kilometers, with an epicenter in neighboring Myanmar, according to temporary reports.

Bangkok police said that a high-rise building under construction collapsed when a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit the Thai capital midday on Friday, and possible casualties are not yet known. A dramatic video circulated on social media showed the multi-story building with a crane on top collapsing into a cloud of dust, while onlookers screamed and ran. Police told The Associated Press they were responding to the scene near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak Market, and had no immediate information on how many workers were on the site at the time of the collapse.


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The greater Bangkok area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

Many buildings were evacuated as they swayed in the rare quake.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa. There were no immediate reports of the effect of the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war.

Bangkok Earthquake: Watch videos here:

Alarms went off in buildings as the earthquake hit around 1:30 p.m., and startled residents were evacuated down staircases of high-rise condominiums and hotels in densely populated central Bangkok.

Read More: Earthquake Today: Earthquake of Magnitude 7.7 strikes Myanmar. Tremors felt in China and Bangkok

They remained in the streets, seeking shade from the midday sun in the minutes after the quake.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake was forceful enough to send water sloshing out of pools, some high up in high-rises, as the tremor shook.

The epicenter of the earthquake was in central Myanmar, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa.

There were no immediate reports of the effect of the earthquake in Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war.