Bangkok declares disaster zone, buildings evacuated

Bangkok authorities declared the Thai capital a “disaster area” on Friday, after a powerful earthquake in neighboring Myanmar created tremors which caused buildings to sway dramatically and one skyscraper under construction to collapse.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the worst damage was to a 33-storey building that was being built in Chatuchak district. Sittipunt said 83 construction workers had been trapped inside. In an update shared to social media at 10 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), the Bangkok Incident Command Center said 10 people had died. Footage of the building rapidly crumbling showed residents and tourists in the area running in panic.

“At present, the earthquake may still result in aftershocks, prompting Bangkok authorities to urgently assess damaged areas, monitor at-risk zones, and provide assistance to affected residents, as well as address any ongoing dangers that may pose risks to public safety,” Bangkok City Hall said in a Google-translated statement.

In Myanmar — where the ruling military junta has declared a state of emergency — at least 144 people were reported dead and 732 injured, according to Reuters, which cited a Friday evening update on state television. Myanmar’s junta chief reportedly said there would be “many more” deaths and casualties” and that routes for international assistance had been opened.

Cracked buildings and bridges in Bangkok were being inspected by engineers for their stability on Friday, though authorities advised that people could return to buildings without severe damage. As the city’s notoriously-bad traffic reached severe levels entering Friday evening, with some major highway exits closed, authorities said four main parks would remain open providing water and toilet trucks.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended trading across all exchanges from Friday afternoon from 2:07 p.m. local time, while several Bangkok shopping malls were shuttered for the remainder of Friday and the BTS metro system was closed.

Offices across the skyscraper-dense city were meanwhile evacuated on Friday afternoon.

Finance worker Bell Satirapraparkul told CNBC she was having lunch in the ground floor restaurant of her office in the Ratchayothin neighborhood in the north of Bangkok when she felt heavy shaking. Employees were barred from the site until Saturday at the earliest without being able to collect their cars.

Several tall buildings could be seen swaying severely as water from rooftop pools poured over the side and items were thrown off.

Automaker Nissan told CNBC it had paused its manufacturing operations in Thailand until the situation was assessed as safe by Thai authorities. “Nissan put employees’ safety as a priority. As of now, we have confirmed that all employees at Nissan Thailand are safe and evacuated. We are checking if there are damages to our facilities,” a spokesperson said.

Bangkok’s hospitals were reported safe and operating as normal.

Bangkok’s main airport, Suvarnabhumi, issued an update at 8:55 a.m. U.K. time (4:55 a.m. ET) saying operations were continuing as normal. Flight data on Flightradar24 showed aircraft taking off and landing at both Bangkok airports. CNBC has contacted major airlines for updates on their operations.

In an advisory, the British Foreign Office said: “There has been a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with strong tremors reported across Thailand and some damage reported to buildings in Bangkok. There may be after-shocks. If you’re in the area or planning to travel there, follow the advice of the local authorities or your tour operator and monitor local media.”

Aviation analytics agency Cirium told CNBC there had been little to no impact on flight operations in either Myanmar or Thailand so far.

In a statement late in the day local time, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said that there were no reports at present of significant damage to Thailand’s economic or financial system, and that the operations of government banks and agencies would not be affected.

Chunhavajira added that the Ministry of Finance would look to assist those affected financially and for ways to provide funds for damage recovery and building and factory machinery repair, as well as urging insurers to prepare to help impacted policyholders.

“I would like to ask the public, investors and business operators to be confident that Thailand’s economic system is strong and stable, and that government agencies are ready to take all necessary measures to ensure that the situation is under careful and effective control,” Chunhavajira said, according to a Google translation.