The latest information from Myanmar indicates that more than 1,600 people have lost their lives and thousands have been injured following two powerful earthquakes that struck last Friday. The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.7 and 6.4, mainly affected the country’s central region in the northwest Sagaing region, leaving numerous people trapped under the rubble.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), hospitals in the affected areas are overwhelmed, and many health infrastructures have suffered severe damage. The most impacted regions include Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw, northeast Shan, and Sagaing.
The main city, Mandalay, is facing a serious crisis as it has lost internet communication and land and air routes are severely disrupted. Health partners are working tirelessly to deploy mobile medical and surgical teams and are setting up field hospitals to provide urgent medical care to the victims.
It is estimated that hundreds of people remain trapped in various collapsed buildings, including at least 50 construction workers in Bangkok, of whom no news has been received. In Mandalay, over 90 individuals are still trapped under the rubble of a collapsed apartment building.
The situation is worsened by the damage to approximately 1,690 houses, 670 monasteries, 60 schools, and three bridges, raising concerns about the stability of important dams in the area. This disaster occurs amidst a severe humanitarian crisis as Myanmar has been embroiled in a fierce civil war since the military coup in February 2021, when military authorities violently suppressed pro-democracy protests.
Amidst this catastrophe, the country’s military leaders have called on the international community to provide emergency assistance in the face of devastation and the high number of victims. Furthermore, ongoing airstrikes have been reported in the Sagaing region by opposition forces.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun sending emergency medical teams to Myanmar due to the critical shortage of medical supplies. Marcoluigi Corsi, the UN’s Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Myanmar, expressed solidarity with the Burmese people and emphasized that the UN and its partners are swiftly working to support emergency response efforts and aid all affected communities.
Myanmar, already facing a serious humanitarian crisis, now urgently requires strong support from the international community in these heartbreaking times.
via: MiMub in Spanish
