The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit Myanmar nearly a week ago rose Thursday to 3,085 as search and rescue teams found more bodies, the military-led Government said and humanitarian aid groups scrambled to provide survivors medical care and shelter. In a short statement, the military said another 4,715 people have been injured and 341 are missing.
The epicentre of Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. It brought down thousands of buildings, buckled roads and destroyed bridges in multiple regions.
Local media reports of casualties have been much higher than the official figures and with telecommunications widely out and many places difficult to reach, it’s thought the numbers could rise sharply as more details come in.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that according to its initial assessment, four hospitals and one health centre had been completely destroyed while another 32 hospitals and 18 health centres had been partially damaged.
“With infrastructure compromised and patient numbers surging, access to health care has become nearly impossible in many of the worst-hit areas,” the UN said. “Thousands of people are in urgent need of trauma care, surgical interventions and treatment for disease outbreaks.”
A mobile hospital from India and a joint Russian-Belarusian hospital also were now operating in Mandalay.
With many left homeless by the earthquake, and many others staying away from their homes over fears ongoing aftershocks will bring them down, workers in Naypyitaw laboured in the 40 degree Celsius busily erected big tents in open fields to provide some shelter.
Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected Government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.
The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than three million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.
As concerns grew that ongoing fighting could hamper humanitarian aid efforts, the military declared a temporary ceasefire Wednesday, through April 22.
The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule.
The military said it would still take “necessary” measures against those groups if they use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks.
Already on Thursday, there were reports from local media in Kachin state in the north of Myanmar that military attacks continued in several areas, but they could not be independently confirmed.
Prior to the earthquake the military was battling the Kachin Independence Army militia group. The earthquake shook Kachin, but there have been no reports of damage there.
In Bangkok, where the quake brought down a skyscraper under construction, the search for survivors and bodies continued as Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said a possible sound of life was detected in the rubble.
By mid-afternoon, more than 144 hours after the earthquake, nobody had been found. Twenty-two people were killed and 35 injured in the city, mostly by the collapse of the unfinished building.
