Damage assessments are continuing after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar on Friday destroyed local buildings and caused a high-rise tower under construction in Bangkok to collapse. 

Media have reported that around 1700 people in Myanmar died in the earthquake, thousands were injured and hundreds are missing. International teams have mobilised to provide assistance. 

“This is a significant human tragedy. Unfortunately, there will be a notable protection gap highlighting the continuing need to bring more insurance capital into emerging markets,” Howden Re Asia-Pacific head Andy Souter said. 

The earthquake was felt widely across Myanmar, as well as parts of Thailand, China, and Bangladesh. 

Mr Souter says earthquake risk in Thailand is considered comparatively low compared to perils such as typhoons and floods, but in areas such as Bangkok with highly concentrated, high value properties, it doesn’t take long for losses to accumulate.  

“Despite low seismic activity in Thailand and other countries in the region like Singapore, their vulnerability to earthquake risks from large, distant events should not be underestimated,” he said. 

The US Geological Survey says the Myanmar earthquake was caused by a “strike slip” along the India and Eurasia plates. Six other magnitude-7 and larger earthquakes have occurred within about 250km of Friday’s event, since 1900, with the most recent in January 1990. 

Howden Re’s head of international catastrophe model research Myrto Papaspiliou says of Thailand's 76 provinces, only 10, primarily in the northwest, are classified as earthquake risk zones. 

“However, Bangkok’s deep, soft alluvial soil amplifies shaking, making larger earthquakes from southern China and Myanmar felt in the city and potentially damaging,” Dr Papaspiliou said. 

“This was evident during the 2014 Chiang Rai earthquake and, most notably, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake, although the tsunami was a key driver in the latter case.”