BANGKOK – Aid groups arriving in the worst-hit areas of Myanmar said there was an urgent need for shelter, food and water after last week’s devastating quake, while in Bangkok rescuers pressed on searching for life under the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper.
More than 2,000 people died in the 7.7 magnitude quake, which hit around lunchtime on March 28 and as aid teams made into areas near the epicentre, it became clear to them that a massive humanitarian effort was required for those who survived.
“Having lived through the terror of the earthquake, people now fear aftershocks and are sleeping outside on roads or in open fields,” an International Rescue Committee worker in Mandalay said.
“However, in towns and cities, safe spaces are scarce. There is an urgent need for tents, as even those whose homes remain intact are too afraid to sleep indoors.”
The IRC said its teams found people also urgently needed medical care, drinking water and food.
Civil war in Myanmar, where the junta seized power in a coup in 2021, has complicated efforts to reach those injured and made homeless by the South-east Asian nation’s biggest quake in a century.
In Mandalay, a resident told Reuters that people were desperately trying to organise their own efforts to dig bodies out of rubble as there was not enough equipment or rescue teams, and locals were wary of aftershocks.
“People went back inside the building in the day time but still not dare to sleep at night,” the resident said
“People are still sleeping outside and started getting sick … as the ground has been hit by sun the whole day and so it’s hot.”
State media has reported Myanmar’s death toll at 2,065, with more than 3,900 injured and at least 270 missing. The military government declared a week-long mourning period from March 31.
The junta’s tight control over communication networks and the damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure caused by the quakes has intensified the challenges for aid workers.
In Bangkok, rescuers were still scouring the ruins of an unfinished skyscraper that collapsed for signs of life, but aware that as nearly four days had passed since the quake, the odds of finding survivors lengthened.
Search and rescue teams said they planned to bring in emotional support dogs for the relatives of the dead and missing.
Thirteen deaths have been confirmed at the building site, with 74 people still missing. Thailand’s national death toll from the quake stands at 20.
Initial tests showed that some steel samples collected from the site of the collapsed building were substandard, Thai industry ministry officials said. The government has launched an investigation into the cause of the collapse. REUTERS
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