GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

In Southeast Asia today, a major earthquake# rocked Myanmar and s.. collapsing multiple buildings and# complicating rescue efforts.

As of now,## more than 140 people have reportedly been# killed across three cities in Myanmar,## and at least 10 in neighboring Thailand have died.

The epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude quake was near## Myanmar's second largest city and was# followed by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock.

Debi Edward of Independent Television News# has the latest from Bangkok, Thailand.

DEBI EDWARD: The man filming shouted a warning,## but it took just three seconds for# the entire skyscraper to collapse.## He kept recording as he and his co-workers# fled in terror and were engulfed in dust.

Across Bangkok, people watched in horror as the# building with a construction crane on top crumpled## to the ground following a massive earthquake.# A major rescue operation swung into action,## with 90 people trapped in the mound of rubble and# twisted metal.

The epicenter was in neighboring## Myanmar, where it struck during Friday prayers.# This mosque caved in on the worshipers inside.

A group of monks, cowering outside the# ruins of their temple, watched as another## building nearby collapsed.

At Mandalay# Airport, passengers and staff crouched## in fear on the tarmac as the tremors# continued.

In the Burmese capital,## the general hospital was quickly# overwhelmed, the sounds of heart## monitors and screams of pain punctuating# an air of chaos in a mass casualty area.

For the past four years, Myanmar has been# gripped in a bloody civil war, and now## nature has inflicted a disaster on its people.# The country is largely cut off from the world## and communications inside are restricted.

So the# scale of loss they are facing is still unknown.

MARIE MANRIQUE, Myanmar Program# Coordinator, Red Cross: We will## know the scale of the damage as we# .. as our colleague already said, that# the impact will be quite significant.

DEBI EDWARD: The quake hit at around 1:00 p.m.# local time and was so powerful it reached the## Thai capital hundreds of miles away, causing# its many high-rise buildings to sway, some## rooftop pools producing crashing waves like the# ocean, while others created cascading waterfalls.

In a city not used to earthquakes,# panic took hold and crowds fled for## the safety of the outdoors.

Hospital# patients were evacuated onto a road,## while a restaurant became a safe haven# for these babies from a neonatal unit.

Shocks were felt across the entire region,# including Southern China, where falling debris## had people running for their lives.

A state# of emergency has been declared in Myanmar and## in Thailand, where the prime minister visited# the scene of the construction site collapse.

The specialist teams brought in for this complex# search-and-rescue operation must be daunted by## the task that faces them, the giant shards of# concrete in which they hope to find signs of life.

Debi Edward, ITV News.