In this country, the earthquake could exacerbate one of the most challenging places in the world where humanitarian organizations operate due to civil war, aid organizations and the United Nations warning.
State media said on Monday that the death toll from a massive earthquake in Myanmar last week has passed 2,000, as some people’s last moments emerged: 200 Buddhist monks were crushed by a collapsed monastery. Fifty children were killed when they collapsed in a preschool classroom. While praying for the mosque in Ramadan, 700 Muslims attacked.
In this country, the earthquake could exacerbate one of the most challenging places in the world where humanitarian organizations operate due to civil war, aid organizations and the United Nations warning.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the center near Myanmar’s second largest city in Mandalay on Friday. It damaged the city’s airports, curved roads, and collapsed along the wide buildings in the center of the country. Power outages, fuel shortages and spotted communications further hindered relief efforts. The lack of heavy machinery slows down the search operation, forcing many to manually search for survivors at daily temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
U Hla Thein Monastery, collapsed rescuer in Mandalay, said they were still searching for about 150 dead monks. About 700 Muslim worshippers attended the prayer on Friday, Tun Kyi, a member of the Myanmar Muslim Network Steering Committee for the Spring Revolution Steering Committee. He said about 60 mosques were destroyed or destroyed. The video posted on the Irrawaddy online news website shows the toppings of several mosques.
It is not clear whether these figures are already included in the official losses. MRTV, Myanmar, reported that military leader General Min Aung Haing told the Pakistani Prime Minister over the phone that 2,065 people were killed, more than 3,900 were injured and about 270 were missing.
Relief agencies expect these figures to rise sharply, as access to remote areas where communications decline is slow. The United Nations Rural Team in Myanmar calls for unhindered visits to the assistance team. “Even before this earthquake, nearly 20 million people in Myanmar needed humanitarian assistance,” said Marcoluigi Corsi, UN Residents and Humanitarian Coordinator.
The full extent of the destruction is not yet known
“We really don’t know the scale of the damage,” Lauren Ellery, deputy director of the Myanmar Programs at the Myanmar International Rescue Commission, told the Associated Press. “They are talking about a small town near Mandalay, where 80% of the buildings reportedly collapsed, but that’s not news because telecommunications are slow.” She said the team working with the IRC reported that some places were cut off by landslides.
The World Health Organization said three hospitals in the region had 22 reports of damage in the region. It said: “Trastic and surgical care, blood transfusion supplies, anesthetics, essential medicines and mental health support are urgently needed.” The UN humanitarian agency said that in central and northwestern Myanmar, more than 10,000 buildings collapsed or severely damaged. It said a preschool building collapsed in the Mandalay area, killing 50 children and two teachers.
Microsoft’s AI performed an artificial intelligence analysis of Good Lab’s Mandalay satellite imagery, showing 515 buildings that damaged 80% to 100% and 1,524 buildings that lost 20% to 80%. It is unclear how many percentages of buildings the city represents.
Civil War has been displaced
The civil war also complicated the rescue efforts. In 2021, the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, which triggered a huge armed resistance.
Although one group announced a partial unilateral ceasefire, the government and other armed groups did not stop fighting.
Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places cannot reach aid groups even before the earthquake. According to the United Nations, the fight has displaced more than three million people.
Ellery of the International Rescue Commission pointed out that flooding last year, the areas that hit hardest by earthquakes were severely damaged, and many displaced people were seeking asylum there.
Many people have been sleeping outside since the earthquake, either because the house was destroyed or out of fear of aftershocks.
Find survivors in Bangkok
A small number of U.S. military personnel were sent to Bangkok to assist, and the earthquake killed at least 18 people, many of whom were at the collapsed construction site. Another 33 people were reportedly injured, 78 of them missing, mainly at a construction site near the popular Chatuchak market.
(The story has not been edited except for the title, but is published directly from PTI/AP)
