Aid groups arriving in the worst-hit areas of Myanmar said there is urgent need for shelter, food and water after last week’s devastating quake.
This was as in Bangkok, rescuers pressed on, searching for life under the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper.
Media Talk Africa reports that at least 2,000 people died in the 7.7 magnitude quake, which hit around lunchtime on Friday.
As aid teams made into areas near the epicentre, they found out that a massive humanitarian effort was required for those who survived the incident.
“Having lived through the terror of the earthquake, people now fear aftershocks and are sleeping outside on roads or in open fields.
“However, in towns and cities, safe spaces are scarce. There is an urgent need for tents, as even those whose homes remain intact are too afraid to sleep indoors,” an International Rescue Committee worker in Mandalay said.
The International Red Cross, IRC, said its teams also found people urgently in need of medical care, drinking water and food.
It was gathered that civil war in Myanmar, where the junta seized power in a coup in 2021, has complicated efforts to reach those injured and made homeless by the Southeast Asian nation’s biggest quake in a century.
State media has reported Myanmar’s death toll at 2,065, with more than 3,900 injured and at least 270 missing.
The military government declared a week-long mourning period from Monday.
