Panicked locals fled a shopping mall during an earthquake in Bangkok.

Footage shows thousands of mallgoers evacuating the building as a powerful tremor shook the city today.

A shopper said: 'The tremor was so intense that we immediately ran out of the mall. The evacuation caused heavy traffic in the area.'

The magnitude 7.7 quake sparked carnage across the capital Bangkok, with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra declaring the city an emergency zone.

The US Geological Survey said the tremor struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), and was centred in Myanmar, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Monywa City.

Across Bangkok, terrified residents and workers ran into the streets after the quake caused buildings to sway at around 2:20 pm local time.

Many buildings were evacuated as they swayed in the rare quake.

Debris was seen falling from several high-rise buildings. Officials closed roads and evacuated buildings as they assessed the damage and prepared for aftershocks.