bangkok: 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.
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.