A rescue operation continuing in front of the collapsed Sky Villa condominium in Mandalay, Myanmar on March 31, 2025. - Kyodo News via AP
NAYPYIDAW: The death toll from Myanmar’s biggest earthquake in a century is set to climb from around 1,700 as rescue workers seek to find survivors before the end of a 72-hour window, after which the chances of finding people alive diminishes rapidly.
About 3,400 are injured in the war-torn country and the death toll may rise further, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing said. Hundreds are missing after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay on Friday (March 28) afternoon and was felt in Thailand, Vietnam and China. Aftershocks included a 5.1-magnitude quake that struck near Mandalay on Sunday.
The quake devastated swathes of a civil war-stricken country that has been under the control of a military junta since 2021.
Even before the temblor, some 19.9 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations. Myanmar rebels declared a ceasefire in quake-hit areas to allow aid to reach victims, but the junta hasn’t said if it will join and local media reports said it continues to conduct airstrikes near quake-hit areas.
Crematoriums in Mandalay are overwhelmed, according to the Myanmar Now website, which also reported that the military junta has barred international journalists from accessing quake-stricken areas, making it difficult to assess the situation on the ground.
In Thailand, where at least 18 people died in the quake, efforts continued to find dozens missing after the collapse of a building under construction.
But Bangkok offices and financial markets are reopening today, and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra posted on X that the situation in the country is under control. Most small and medium-sized factories have resumed operations.
In Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey has said that more than 10,000 people may have died, warning that estimated economic losses may exceed the nation’s gross domestic product.
Roughly 138,000 people died in Myanmar in 2008, when Cyclone Nargis swept across the country’s coastal belt, according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Fighting between opposition groups and the junta has already displaced more than 3.5 million people, with the UN refugee agency UNHCR estimating that some 1.6 million of internally displaced people are in quake-hit areas.
Telecommunications and internet disruptions are hindering rescue efforts in quake-hit regions of Myanmar including the second-biggest city of Mandalay and Sagaing, a city near the epicenter.
Many dead bodies are trapped under the debris and the foul odour from Mandalay General Hospital’s mortuary is so strong that passersby need to wear masks to avoid health risks, residents said on Sunday.
"The whole city could be at risk of foul odour tomorrow due to trapped bodies in many parts of the city because it’s very hot here,” Hteik Tin Aung, a resident of Chanayethazan township of Mandalay, said on Sunday.
China, Israel, the US and the UK are among countries that have provided assistance to Myanmar, where the shadow National Unity Government announced that the guerrilla People’s Defence Force will pause offensive military operations for two weeks except for defensive actions, effective Sunday. It urged relief agencies and international groups to step up aid.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) held a virtual emergency meeting on Sunday, calling for "a safe and conducive environment” to allow delivery of aid.
Aid needs to reach "those in need in a timely and effective manner without disruption and discrimination,” Asean said in a statement on Sunday, noting that relief teams have been dispatched to Myanmar from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Underscoring the regional concern about Myanmar, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said in a post on X that he and his Malaysian counterpart will visit the country on April 5 to further discuss humanitarian needs.
Junta chief Min asked for construction materials in his plea for international aid in a special meeting on recovery efforts on Sunday as he seeks to rebuild infrastructure including roads, bridges and damaged state-owned buildings.
The shadow NUG, made up of allies of deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and who controls the People’s Defence Force, said it has allocated US$1 million initially for emergency rescue and medical operations across the country, particularly in NUG-administered territories.
United Nations agency OCHA Myanmar is allocating an initial $5 million for assistance in Myanmar and is mobilising emergency response efforts. Disruptions to infrastructure and communication networks are complicating rescue operations, the UN agency said. - Bloomberg
