The agency said the figures were from the information unit of the ruling junta, whose leader, Min Aung Hlaing, was quoted as saying the deaths included 96 from the capital Naypyidaw, 18 from Sagaing and 30 from Kyaukse. The injured included 432 from Naypyidaw and 300 from Sagaing.

Many buildings were damaged, the report said, while the Red Cross in Myanmar has reported devastating damage following the strong earthquakes, according to the German news agency, Bernama reported.

There is great concern that dams on the Irrawaddy River may have been damaged and could break, according to Marie Manrique, the international Red Cross programme manager on the ground.

She said 18.5 million people live in the affected area near the city of Sagaing, where two quakes of an estimated magnitude of 7.7 and 6.4 were recorded today.

Many of them were displaced due to the fighting in the country since the 2021 military coup.

The United Nations refugee agency said about 1.6 million of the 3.5 million displaced people in Myanmar live in the region hit by the earthquake. “We are very concerned about the possible humanitarian consequences,” said Manrique. “We expect a lot of people to be injured.”