It’s 3:19 PM here, March 28, 2025, and I’m trying to wrap my head around this 7.7 magnitude earthquake smashed Myanmar and Thailand a few hours ago, and it’s bad. Leila, my Palestinian friend who’s been rallying for Quds Day all day in Boston, called me at lunch, voice cracking: “Did you see? Mandalay’s gone, Bangkok’s shaking hundreds dead already.” She’s got a knack for tying everything to her fight, but this one’s hitting her different pure shock. I’m scrolling X now, and it’s a flood clips of buildings swaying, people screaming, some high-rise in Bangkok pancaked mid-construction. USGS is saying thousands could be dead. Thousands. This week’s already been a meat grinder—Gaza, wildfires, protests and now this? It’s like the earth’s pissed off too.
The Hit: When It Struck
Here’s what I’ve got so far it’s still fresh, messy, no one’s got the full picture. The quake hit at 2:03 PM Myanmar time 1:03 PM Thailand, 3:03 AM EDT here so about 12 hours ago. Epicenter’s 17 miles southeast of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, 10 kilometers deep, shallow enough to wreck everything. X posts say it struck at lunchtime people eating, working, living then bam, the ground ripped open. Hundreds of homes collapsed across Myanmar villages near Mandalay, places like Sagaing, Mogok, just flattened. Leila’s like, “It’s Gaza all over again rubble, no warning.” She’s not wrong pics show concrete heaps, wood splintered, people digging with bare hands.
Thailand felt it hard too Bangkok’s 400 miles south, but the shakes hit like a freight train. X’s got clips of high-rises wobbling, household stuff swinging in apartments, hundreds pouring into streets in panic. One post says a building under construction collapsed nobody knows how many were inside yet. Stock Exchange of Thailand shut down trading this afternoon markets froze, people bolted. Leila texted me a video some guy filming from a Bangkok balcony, yelling as the floor bucked. “That’s terror,” she said. “Same as bombs.”
The Toll: Counting the Dead
Numbers are all over the place nobody’s got a solid count. USGS is predicting “thousands” dead shallow quake, big cities, weak buildings, it’s a recipe for carnage. Myanmar’s junta’s barely talking state TV’s mum, but local posts on X say Mandalay’s a war zone hospitals swamped, bodies in the streets. One tweet’s stuck with me: “Saw a kid pulled out, half his face gone nobody’s coming to help.” Thailand’s got reports too multiple buildings down in Bangkok, Chiang Mai felt it, Chiang Rai’s got damage. AP says that high-rise collapse could be dozens dead, maybe more construction crew caught mid-shift.
Leila’s been on X too she sent me a post: “Hundreds of homes gone in Myanmar, Bangkok’s a mess where’s the world now?” She’s tying it to Gaza, where her cousins are dodging rockets: “Same silence, same suffering.” I can’t argue 27 dead in South Korea’s wildfires this week, 49,000-plus in Gaza since ’23, now this. It’s a body count marathon, and nobody’s winning.
The Chaos: People Running, Falling
X is raw with it people posting what they saw, felt, lost. Bangkok clips show crowds jamming streets, cars honking, some lady crying as she grabs her kid. Reuters says buildings shook so hard hundreds ran out panic mode, pure instinct. Myanmar’s quieter internet’s spotty under the junta but what’s leaking out is grim. One post: “Mandalay’s market collapsed people trapped, screaming, then nothing.” Another’s got a photo dust cloud swallowing a street, silhouettes digging through it.
Leila’s rally’s still going she’s chanting for Palestine, but this quake’s got her rattled: “It’s too much Gaza last night, now this.” She means that father in Gaza City, the one holding his kid’s head after a rocket strike. “Same heartbreak,” she said. “No control, just loss.” I keep seeing that Bangkok high-rise clip steel bending, then gone. Same vibe life one second, nothing the next.
Quds Day: Unity in the Dust
Today’s Quds Day Leila’s been all about “Unity for Palestine,” marching with thousands in Boston, millions in Tehran, Beirut, London. She’s got Rumeysa Ozturk’s name on her sign that Tufts student ICE grabbed Tuesday for her Palestine op-ed, now in a Louisiana cell. “It’s all one fight,” Leila keeps saying. This quake, though it’s throwing a wrench in it. How do you rally for unity when the ground’s splitting? She’s texting me now: “We’re shouting for Gaza, Rumeysa, Myanmar too same pain.”
She’s right it’s connected, but it’s overwhelming. Tehran’s marches are huge state TV’s blasting it but X posts say some are pivoting: “Pray for Myanmar, Thailand not just Palestine.” Leila’s tying it to Jungkook’s wildfire relief in South Korea: “He gave a billion won where’s that for this?” Fair question 27 dead there, thousands here, no celebs rushing in yet. It’s Quds Day, but the earth’s stealing the spotlight.
The Week’s Mess: It’s All Piling Up
This week’s been relentless Gaza’s father with his kid’s head, South Korea’s wildfires, Turkey’s Pikachu dodging cops, Chelsea’s comeback, LeBron’s media rant. Now a 7.7 quake? Leila’s voice is hoarse over the phone: “It’s like the world’s screaming back.” Turkey’s protests Erdogan’s cracking down while preaching Quds Day feel distant but kin. Rumeysa’s detention’s got Leila raging: “She’s Turkish, could’ve been in Bangkok today same oppression.”
Jungkook and BTS threw cash at Korea’s fires billions of won, hope in chaos. Chelsea Women flipped a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 win last night Leila saw fight in that. LeBron’s blasting Windhorst? “He gets it twisted stories,” she said. But this quake’s different no comeback, no cash fix yet. X posts are grim: “Bangkok’s shaking, Mandalay’s dead where’s help?” Leila’s cousins in Gaza are numb to disaster she says this feels the same: “No one’s coming.”
What’s Left: Dust and Desks
It’s 3:40 PM now hours in, and it’s still unfolding. Myanmar’s junta’s useless relief’s on locals, neighbors, whatever’s left. Thailand’s got more Bangkok’s mobilizing, but that high-rise collapse is a black hole. USGS says aftershocks are coming 6.2 hit an hour ago near Mandalay, more expected. Leila’s rally’s winding down she’s texting: “We’re praying for them too can’t not.” I keep seeing that X clip Bangkok apartment swaying, dishes crashing. Then that post: “Kid’s face half gone.” It’s sticking, like Gaza’s dad and his boy’s head.
No count’s solid yet hundreds dead, maybe thousands, who knows? Hospitals are overflowing, roads cracked, power’s out in Mandalay. Bangkok’s reeling Stock Exchange’s dark, streets clogged. Leila’s last text: “Tell them it’s real people like my cousins, just trying to live.” She’s right it’s not stats, it’s lives. A kid in Myanmar, a worker in Bangkok, a dad in Gaza same thread, different hell.
This ain’t over shocks’ll keep coming, bodies’ll pile up. Quds Day’s loud, but this quake’s louder. No unity’s fixing it yet just dust, screams, and a world that can’t catch a break.
The Hit: When It Struck
Here’s what I’ve got so far it’s still fresh, messy, no one’s got the full picture. The quake hit at 2:03 PM Myanmar time 1:03 PM Thailand, 3:03 AM EDT here so about 12 hours ago. Epicenter’s 17 miles southeast of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, 10 kilometers deep, shallow enough to wreck everything. X posts say it struck at lunchtime people eating, working, living then bam, the ground ripped open. Hundreds of homes collapsed across Myanmar villages near Mandalay, places like Sagaing, Mogok, just flattened. Leila’s like, “It’s Gaza all over again rubble, no warning.” She’s not wrong pics show concrete heaps, wood splintered, people digging with bare hands.
Thailand felt it hard too Bangkok’s 400 miles south, but the shakes hit like a freight train. X’s got clips of high-rises wobbling, household stuff swinging in apartments, hundreds pouring into streets in panic. One post says a building under construction collapsed nobody knows how many were inside yet. Stock Exchange of Thailand shut down trading this afternoon markets froze, people bolted. Leila texted me a video some guy filming from a Bangkok balcony, yelling as the floor bucked. “That’s terror,” she said. “Same as bombs.”
The Toll: Counting the Dead
Numbers are all over the place nobody’s got a solid count. USGS is predicting “thousands” dead shallow quake, big cities, weak buildings, it’s a recipe for carnage. Myanmar’s junta’s barely talking state TV’s mum, but local posts on X say Mandalay’s a war zone hospitals swamped, bodies in the streets. One tweet’s stuck with me: “Saw a kid pulled out, half his face gone nobody’s coming to help.” Thailand’s got reports too multiple buildings down in Bangkok, Chiang Mai felt it, Chiang Rai’s got damage. AP says that high-rise collapse could be dozens dead, maybe more construction crew caught mid-shift.
Leila’s been on X too she sent me a post: “Hundreds of homes gone in Myanmar, Bangkok’s a mess where’s the world now?” She’s tying it to Gaza, where her cousins are dodging rockets: “Same silence, same suffering.” I can’t argue 27 dead in South Korea’s wildfires this week, 49,000-plus in Gaza since ’23, now this. It’s a body count marathon, and nobody’s winning.
The Chaos: People Running, Falling
X is raw with it people posting what they saw, felt, lost. Bangkok clips show crowds jamming streets, cars honking, some lady crying as she grabs her kid. Reuters says buildings shook so hard hundreds ran out panic mode, pure instinct. Myanmar’s quieter internet’s spotty under the junta but what’s leaking out is grim. One post: “Mandalay’s market collapsed people trapped, screaming, then nothing.” Another’s got a photo dust cloud swallowing a street, silhouettes digging through it.
Leila’s rally’s still going she’s chanting for Palestine, but this quake’s got her rattled: “It’s too much Gaza last night, now this.” She means that father in Gaza City, the one holding his kid’s head after a rocket strike. “Same heartbreak,” she said. “No control, just loss.” I keep seeing that Bangkok high-rise clip steel bending, then gone. Same vibe life one second, nothing the next.
Quds Day: Unity in the Dust
Today’s Quds Day Leila’s been all about “Unity for Palestine,” marching with thousands in Boston, millions in Tehran, Beirut, London. She’s got Rumeysa Ozturk’s name on her sign that Tufts student ICE grabbed Tuesday for her Palestine op-ed, now in a Louisiana cell. “It’s all one fight,” Leila keeps saying. This quake, though it’s throwing a wrench in it. How do you rally for unity when the ground’s splitting? She’s texting me now: “We’re shouting for Gaza, Rumeysa, Myanmar too same pain.”
She’s right it’s connected, but it’s overwhelming. Tehran’s marches are huge state TV’s blasting it but X posts say some are pivoting: “Pray for Myanmar, Thailand not just Palestine.” Leila’s tying it to Jungkook’s wildfire relief in South Korea: “He gave a billion won where’s that for this?” Fair question 27 dead there, thousands here, no celebs rushing in yet. It’s Quds Day, but the earth’s stealing the spotlight.
The Week’s Mess: It’s All Piling Up
This week’s been relentless Gaza’s father with his kid’s head, South Korea’s wildfires, Turkey’s Pikachu dodging cops, Chelsea’s comeback, LeBron’s media rant. Now a 7.7 quake? Leila’s voice is hoarse over the phone: “It’s like the world’s screaming back.” Turkey’s protests Erdogan’s cracking down while preaching Quds Day feel distant but kin. Rumeysa’s detention’s got Leila raging: “She’s Turkish, could’ve been in Bangkok today same oppression.”
Jungkook and BTS threw cash at Korea’s fires billions of won, hope in chaos. Chelsea Women flipped a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 win last night Leila saw fight in that. LeBron’s blasting Windhorst? “He gets it twisted stories,” she said. But this quake’s different no comeback, no cash fix yet. X posts are grim: “Bangkok’s shaking, Mandalay’s dead where’s help?” Leila’s cousins in Gaza are numb to disaster she says this feels the same: “No one’s coming.”
What’s Left: Dust and Desks
It’s 3:40 PM now hours in, and it’s still unfolding. Myanmar’s junta’s useless relief’s on locals, neighbors, whatever’s left. Thailand’s got more Bangkok’s mobilizing, but that high-rise collapse is a black hole. USGS says aftershocks are coming 6.2 hit an hour ago near Mandalay, more expected. Leila’s rally’s winding down she’s texting: “We’re praying for them too can’t not.” I keep seeing that X clip Bangkok apartment swaying, dishes crashing. Then that post: “Kid’s face half gone.” It’s sticking, like Gaza’s dad and his boy’s head.
No count’s solid yet hundreds dead, maybe thousands, who knows? Hospitals are overflowing, roads cracked, power’s out in Mandalay. Bangkok’s reeling Stock Exchange’s dark, streets clogged. Leila’s last text: “Tell them it’s real people like my cousins, just trying to live.” She’s right it’s not stats, it’s lives. A kid in Myanmar, a worker in Bangkok, a dad in Gaza same thread, different hell.
This ain’t over shocks’ll keep coming, bodies’ll pile up. Quds Day’s loud, but this quake’s louder. No unity’s fixing it yet just dust, screams, and a world that can’t catch a break.
