A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, causing significant loss of life. As of March 31, more than 17,000 people have been reported dead due to the earthquake.

The quake also shook neighboring Thailand, including the greater Bangkok area, home to around

17 million people, and caused a skyscraper under construction to collapse.

On the earthquake magnitude scale, a quake over 7.0 is considered major and can cause serious damage, while a magnitude over 8.0 is classified as massive and has the potential to destroy entire communities.

Among the deadliest recent earthquakes, those with the largest death tolls include the 2010 Haiti earthquake (over 160,000-230,000 deaths), the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China (approximately 87,000 deaths), and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan (over 80,000 deaths).