A team of AFP journalists witnessed pieces of ceilings falling from buildings and roads buckled in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw. They were at the National Museum in Naypyidaw when the quake struck and the building began to shake.

Debris fell from the ceiling and walls cracked as uniformed workers ran outside, some shaking and crying, others holding mobile phones to try to contact relatives, according to AFP. The ground shook violently for about half a minute before stabilizing.

"We all ran out of our houses when everything started shaking. I saw a five-storey building collapse right in front of my eyes. Everyone in my town went out into the streets and no one dared to go back to the building," a witness in the Myanmar city of Mandalay told Reuters.

Separately, a resident of Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, told CNN that many people felt shaking for several minutes when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck. "The shaking was excessive and lasted for three to four minutes. The building where I live is unstable," the resident, who did not want to be named, told CNN.

Yangon residents added that many people were unable to make phone calls for about 30 minutes after the earthquake, but the internet was still working normally. Residents added that damage was reported in Myanmar's Sagaing and Mandalay regions.

Witnesses contacted by Reuters in Yangon also said many people ran out of buildings in the city.

There were no immediate reports of casualties after the earthquake but it caused panic in nearby cities in northern Thailand and down to the capital Bangkok.

An office building in central Bangkok swayed from side to side for at least two minutes, Reuters reported, citing witnesses. Hundreds of employees fled through emergency stairs as some workers were shocked and panicked. Loud screams could be heard as the building continued to shake.

"I heard the noise and was sleeping in my house, I ran out of the building in my pajamas," Duangjai, a resident of the popular tourist city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, told AFP.

Also, Mr Sai, a 76-year-old resident of Chiang Mai, was working at a convenience store when it started shaking. "I quickly ran out of the store with other customers. It was the strongest shaking I have ever experienced in my life," Mr Sai told AFP.