The death toll in Friday's massive earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 1,644, and is expected to rise significantly. At least another nine people have died in the Thailand capital, Bangkok which also experienced the 7.7 magnitude quake. Government authorities in Myanmar on Saturday said the number of confirmed deaths has risen to 1,644. The U.S. Geological Syrney says the final number could surpass 10,000. 3,408 more people have been injured, and 139 remain missing, authoiries said Saturday.

Many buildings were destroyed in Myanmar's second largest city, Mandalay, which bore the brunt of the powerful quake, which struck around lunch time on Friday local time. The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator posted on X, that UN teams are being "supported by expertise across our global network" and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund would be mobilised as needed.

In neighbouring Thailand more than eighty construction workers are among them, according to the Thai deputy prime minister, with a search and rescue operation underway.

"I have declared a state of emergency and requested international assistance," Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's military leader said in a televised address to the nation on Friday. "I would like to extend an open invitation to any organizations and nations willing to come and help the people in need within our country," she said.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the UN system is mobilising as fast as possible in support. USAID, which had its worldwide full time employees placed on administrative leave at the end of February, will assist despite its diminished resources.

‘Significant damage' 

The UN Resident Coordinator's Office in Myanmar says reports indicate "significant damage" has occurred in Mandalay state, as well as Nay Pyi Taw, Bago, Magway, Sagaing, Shan "and possibly other areas."

Sheela Matthew of the UN World Food Programme said the quake had hit Myanmar "at the worst possible time. With one of four in the country already facing acute food insecurity. "Myanmar just can't afford another disaster," she said Friday.

Speaking from Myanmar's largest city of Yangon, Marie Manrique, Programme Coordinator for the Myanmar country team of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told journalists at the UN in Geneva that the quake had also been felt in China, and India.

She said that beyond damage to buildings and infrastructure, there was concern over potential dam bursts. Electricity and communications have been cut off in parts of the country.

She said the Myanmar Red Cross Society had launched an emergency operation to help people in need and assess the situation.

Myanmar has been in the grip of an increasingly brutal civil war since a military coup more than four years ago. Around 20 million people, a a third of the population are expected to need humanitarian assistance this year. Around 15 million are projected to face acute food insecurity during 2025, UN sources said Friday.

Fighting between junta forces and opposition armed groups has displaced more than 3.5 million people within the country.

Aid on the way

Speaking for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Harris said relief efforts were underway in coordination with country offices in Myanmar and Thailand.

She said the agency had activated its logistics hub in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to primarily provide trauma supplies and a health needs assessment is underway.

Babar Baloch, for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that the central and northwest parts of Myanmar had the highest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) due to the conflict.

Some 1.6 million IDPs out of the total 3.5 million live in these areas and the catastrophe will only exacerbate hardships, he told journalists Friday.

UN News provided much of the content for this article.