UPDATE 09:10 UTC : OCHA has made a map of the greater earthquake area of the Myanmar earthquake. Click here or on the small map to see the enlarged map.

UPDATE 08:59 UTC : More pictures of the destruction in the area can be seen here

UPDATE 08:58 UTC : Readers from this article have to be aware that the Shan area is known to have regular fighting in between rebel groups and the government.

UPDATE 08:49 UTC : Earthquake-Report publishes the data from the Opposition newspapers as no other sources are reporting updated numbers on this earthquake. All organizations working together with the government for Search and Rescue and Aid are still using the same numbers published by the government 1 day after the earthquake, a number which is certainly not correct as some of the devastated villages were not yet reached and inspected at that time.

UPDATE 08:30 UTC : The Shan Herald, the newspaper from an opposition movement reported the following earthquake details :

The latest count of fatal quake victims in Talerh (Talay) alone was 151 (March 28), according to an informed Lahu source. This does not include those killed in Tachilek and Mong Lane (Monglin). The total death toll therefore would be well over 200.
At the latest count, Jakuni, a village in Talerh (Talay), suffered 76 casualties: 21 dead and 55 injured.
Another village, Mark Ang-khang, suffered 16 dead

UPDATE 08:08 UTC : Opposition newspaper The Irrawaddy has written an" Commentary article" on what they are thinking about the behavior of the Myanmar authorities concerning this earthquake.
Click here to read the full article

UPDATE 29/03 - 00:51 UTC : This video below was published by the Democratic Voice of Burma and shows the collapsed houses in the Tarlay area..

UPDATE 23:23 UTC : Following Shanland.org, another opposition newspaper, hundreds of victims affected by Thursday’s ( 24 March) earthquake are still lacking access to food and aid even though relief supplies are being distributed from local and international communities everyday, according to local sources.

Earthquake March 24 2011 Myanmar / Burma - Picture copyright of Noppatjak Attanon (see also seperate picture page)

UPDATE 22:57 UTC : The Chinese government decided to provide US$500,000 in cash for the disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction for the Myanmar's government. It is an expression of friendship between the Chinese government and people and Myanmar's government and people.

UPDATE 22:54 UTC : Hundreds of earthquake victims who were hospitalized in Tachilek on Saturday had disappeared by Sunday, in what sources say was a Burmese government effort to downplay damage from the magnitude 7.0 tremor. Reporters from The Irrawaddy returned to the hospital on Sunday, but saw no patients outside of the hospital building and only normal patients inside in numbers that totalled much fewer than the day before. When asked where the other patients went, hospital staff and patients said they were “sent away” by the local authorities. (source : opposition newspaper The Irrawaddy)

UPDATE 22:50 UTC : About 30 people died and some 40 houses collapsed in Mong Linn during Thurday's earthquake (source : opposition newspaper The Irrawaddy)

UPDATE 22:49 UTC : Twenty-two people died while praying in a church in remote Chakuni village during last week's earthquake in Shan State (source : opposition newspaper The Irrawaddy).

UPDATE 22:48 UTC : Many earthquake survivors in remote Shan villages such as Chakuni, Mong Linn and Yanshin have still not received aid (source : opposition newspaper The Irrawaddy)

UPDATE 22:16 UTC : Opposition groups are telling international media that the authorities are trying to diminish the situation.
Earthquake-Report is bringing the news as we receive it. Withholding this sometimes very detailed information would not be the right behavior.

UPDATE 22:16 UTC : A totally different picture of the injured is coming from a journalist from The Irrawaddy who visited the Tachilek Hospital and saw that it was overwhelmed by hundreds of earthquake victims, many of them forced to stay out in the open air. Hospital staff estimated at the time that about 700 patients were being treated.
Astonishing numbers if they prove to be true.

UPDATE 22:12 UTC : Myanmar authorities are maintaining the number of 73 killed people (a number they have published soon after the quake struck). The many opposition groups in the area, who have their own independent press , are reporting at least from 150 killed people.

UPDATE 22:05 UTC : Traffic with a major 102-kilometer highway linking Tachileik with Kengtung, which was interrupted for 3 days by the quake, has resumed Sunday afternoon, securing the accessibility to the disaster-hit area.

UPDATE 21:49 UTC : The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, extended the region's condolence and support in person.

UPDATE 21:40 UTC : The quake hit area is also known as the "golden triangle". The name is world famous as an opium-producing area.

UPDATE 21:37 UTC : Heavy rains combined with continuous aftershocks make the Epicenter area very dangerous for potential landslides.

UPDATE 20:05 UTC : Finally live again. We will publish a number of updates soon after many hours offline due to a server move. We have still a problem with some strange trailing characters which will be removed gradually.

UPDATE 09:05 UTC : While CARE does not work in the affected area it does work in 10 of the 14 states and divisions including Shan State. CARE has relief items such as tarpaulins, clothing and essential cooking and hygiene items in our warehouse which could be distributed to families affected by the earthquake through a local partner if required.
CARE staff are coordinating with other agencies in Myanmar to undertake a multi-sector rapid joint assessment of the damage and needs.

UPDATE 08:51 UTC : As clean water is in critical need, World Vision, a Christian relief organization, is moving five mobile water purification units to the epicenter area. These are large units that are powered by generators and they can provide thousands of litres of water, clean water each hour.

UPDATE 08:48 UTC : A lot of the goods that travel between China and Thailand go through the earthquake area

UPDATE 28/03 - 07:14 UTC : The Thai government had expressed condolences to Myanmar, adding that Thailand would donate 3 million baht to the Burmese government.

UPDATE 21:34 UTC : This is a statement of the Myanmar government made on March 26. So, the information may be a little outdated, but it proves that the Myanmar military did deliver all kind of goods the day after the earthquake struck.

"Relief and Resettlement Department under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement provided emergency items such as temporary relief tents, tarpaulins, blankets, Mamee instant noodle sachets, rice, dried fishes, fish cans, men's and women's wear, towels and utensils to the victims who have been in distress due to earthquake centering near Loimwe of Shan State (East). The relief items were supplied by military aircraft yesterday and today. Arrangements are being made to provide further relief items for the victims."

UPDATE 17:33 UTC : This is the third earthquake since the beginning of the year in Myanmar. On 4 February 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 and depth 88.8 km struck Sagaing Division at 2 PM UTC. The second one of magnitude 5.4 and depth 34.9 km,occurred on 10 March 2011 with the epicentre in Yunnan Province, China, No damages or casualties were reported in Myanmar as a result of these two previous earthquakes.
Earthquake-Report.com has, as usual, written in-depth articles of both earthquakes. The overview page (see upper menu - important earthquakes 2011) has a link to both quake articles.

UPDATE 17:28 UTC : A donation center has been set up at Tarlay by a number of local organizations. Local people are assisting the affected people. A Relief Committee has also been set up by the Government in Tarlay.

UPDATE 17:02 UTC : There have been reports of sporadic disruption of basic facilities, including electricity, water supply and telecommunications in the affected areas.

UPDATE 17:00 UTC : The Tarlay Sub-Towhship Relief Committee, established by the Government, has estimated the
damage of the earthquake at approximately 3 billion Kyats (approximately USD 3.6 million).

UPDATE 16:59 UTC : The Government has announced it would share a comprehensive assessment of the situation by Monday 28 March.

UPDATE 16:58 UTC : The damaged Tarlay Bridge, connecting Tachileik and Tarlay, has been temporarily repaired, enabling the re-opening of the road from Tachileik to Tarlay in the evening of 26 March. Heavy trucks are NOT allowed until further notice.

UPDATE 16:56 UTC : 31 religious buildings have been
damaged as well as 11 schools. One 16-bed rural hospital in Tarlay was damaged.

UPDATE 16:54 UTC : the number of damaged houses has increased from 224 to 305, including a number of Government buildings.

UPDATE 12:00 UTC : Official Myanmar MRTV3 has published a second report, not mentioning updated numbers of damage, fatalities and injured, but giving an extensive report of some Myanmar generals who went to Tashileik to inspect the earthquake hit area. The full report can read here

UPDATE 09:21 UTC : Unofficial earthquake death toll more than 150. The aid arrives very slowly in the damaged area. (source : Mizzima)