A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit central Myanmar (formerly Burma) Friday (March 28), shaking Mandalay, the country's second-largest city, as well as nearby countries, including China and Thailand, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

Thai authorities said Monday they are investigating why a single office tower block under construction in Bangkok collapsed during Friday's earthquake that otherwise caused limited damage in the capital.

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter Scale struck the Tonga Islands at 5.48 pm on Sunday. According to the National Center for Seismology, the earthquake's epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean,

The death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies have been pulled from the rubble

The magnitude 7.7 quake Friday rocked an impoverished Southeast Asian nation already beleaguered by years of civil war.