The tremor’s epicentre was located 16 kilometres northwest of the city of Sagaing at a depth of 10 kilometres around 12:50 pm, the USGS said.
Some metro and light rail services were suspended in Bangkok.
Roads were buckled by the force of the tremors and chunks of ceilings fell from buildings.
Tremors were also felt through northern Thailand and down to the capital Bangkok, where residents ran into the streets as buildings shook.
“I heard it and I was sleeping in the house, I ran as far as I could in my pyjamas out of the building,” said Duangjai, a resident of the popular northern tourist city Chiang Mai.
Tremors were also felt in Yunnan province, according to Beijing’s quake agency, which said the jolt measured 7.9 in magnitude.
Earthquakes are relatively common in Myanmar, where six strong quakes of 7.0 magnitude or more struck between 1930 and 1956 near the Sagaing Fault, which runs north to south through the centre of the country, according to the USGS.
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan in central Myanmar killed three people in 2016, also toppling spires and crumbling temple walls at the tourist destination.
The impoverished Southeast Asian nation has a strained medical system, especially in its rural states. (AFP)
