International Desk: The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has risen to 3,600, and 5,017 people were injured. 160 people are still missing, the country’s State Administrative Council said on Monday (April 7). Anadolu Agency reported.
On March 28, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake devastated the city of Sagaing in Myanmar and surrounding rural areas. The situation in Sagaing City became dire after the earthquake. 80 percent of the city was damaged, and almost every house and structure collapsed. Many bodies are buried in the rubble created by the earthquake. The smell of death has spread throughout the city, and only rubble is visible after everything has been destroyed.
The State Administrative Council of Myanmar said that rescue teams are still trying to search for the missing.
According to Xinhua News, humanitarian efforts in the troubled Sagaing region, which has been devastated by fighting and clashes between the junta government and rebel groups, have faced significant obstacles. Search and rescue operations have been slow to move forward due to the military government’s lack of approval.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the junta was limiting aid deliveries to earthquake-hit areas where communities did not support military rule.
The military has struggled to govern Myanmar since it ousted the elected civilian NUG government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.
The UN says the civil war that followed the coup has displaced more than three million people. There is widespread food insecurity, and more than a third of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. The March 28 earthquake has made the situation worse.
According to Myanmar Now, earthquake victims in Myanmar are relying on local non-profit emergency response teams to help with search and rescue operations.
At least 693 people have died in Sagaing, according to Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government (NUG).
The death toll continues to rise as rescue operations are delayed by a lack of heavy equipment and slow response from residents trapped under the rubble.
A resident told Myanmar Now, “The rescue mission is being carried out only by manual labor. Because there is no heavy equipment to remove the rubble. As a result, many people have lost their lives unnecessarily.”
According to Myanmar Now, volunteer-led rescue teams are required to submit detailed information, such as the address of the damaged building, to the junta office to oversee the search and rescue operation and to obtain permission from the military government.
