This is the terrifying moment a Buddha statue shook before being engulfed in clouds of dust during the earthquake in Myanmar.

Worshippers were praying to the idol when tremors struck the Buddhist temple in Manadaly on March 28.

CCTV captured the deity rumbling as locals fled from the building. Another angle shows the temple wobbling before collapsing minutes later.

Miraculously, everybody escaped from the structure before it gave way.

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, around 12:50 pm local time. More than 5,000 are believed to have died and many more injured.

The US Geological Survey said the queake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), and was centred in Myanmar, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Monywa, along the Sagaing fault. There were several aftershocks.

Its neighbouring, Thailand, dozens of people were killed when an office block under construction collapsed in the capital Bangkok.

Search-and-rescue operations remain ongoing in both distressed countries, with numerous nations sending assistance and emergency responders to help with the disaster.