Myanmar quake death toll hits 1,644 as international aid starts to arrive

Foreign rescue teams began flying into Myanmar on Saturday to aid the search for survivors from an earthquake that killed more than 1,644 people in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation crippling critical infrastructure amid a grinding civil war.

This was the deadliest natural disaster to hit the impoverished country. The death toll in Myanmar was 1,644, the military government said on Saturday, up sharply from initial state media reports of 144 dead on Friday.

At least nine people were killed in neighboring Thailand, where the 7.7 magnitude quake rattled buildings and brought down a skyscraper under construction the capital Bangkok, trapping 30 people under debris, with 49 missing.The US Geological Service's predictive modeling estimated the death toll could exceed 10,000 in Myanmar and that losses could exceed the country's annual economic output. The quake damaged roads, bridges, and buildings in Myanmar, according to the junta, whose top general made a rare call for international assistance on Friday. (Ed note: did you know that the country of Myanmar used to be called Burma?)    (Read more)