Deaths from devastating earthquake in Myanmar climb past 1,700

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BANGKOK – The country’s military-led government said on Monday that the death toll of earthquakes hit Myanmar has risen to more than 1,700 as more bodies are pulled out of the rubble.

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Government spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told National MRTV that 3,400 more people were injured and more than 300 were missing. The military had previously reported 1,644 deaths, but no specific figures were provided in its update.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit at noon on Friday, causing extensive damage, including the capital Napito and the second largest city of Mandalay.

Spring Revolution member Tun Kyi, a member of the Spring Revolution Steering Committee of the Maine Muslim Network, said it was the time of praying for the country’s Muslim minority on Friday, with about 700 believers killed. It is not clear whether they have been included in the casualties official.

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Tun Kyi said about 60 mosques were damaged or destroyed when the earthquake occurred, and videos posted on the irrawaddy online news website showed several mosques during the earthquake and people fled the area.

In Mandalay, 270 monks took religious examinations at the Uhla Thein Monastery when the earthquake struck.

Rescuers at the scene on Monday said 70 people were able to escape, but 50 were found dead, while 150 were still not eliminated.

Very little is known about the harm caused in many places

It is believed that among official figures, the real number of people suffered may be many times as many as those of official figures, but the damage in many regions is poorly understood due to telecommunications disruptions and extreme challenges of movement across the country.

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“We really don’t know the scale of the destruction,” Lauren Ellery, deputy director of the Myanmar Programs at Myanmar International Rescue Commission, told the Associated Press.

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There is a state of emergency in six regions, Ellery said her team and her local partners are currently evaluating the places with the greatest demand while providing emergency medical services, humanitarian supplies and other assistance.

“They are talking about a town near Mandalay, where 80% of the buildings have reportedly collapsed, but that’s not because telecommunications are slow,” she said.

“Even in areas that didn’t have much impact, our partner reported to us on Saturday that there were landslides that prevented them from reaching one of the villages.”

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The earthquake collapsed near Mandalay (a city with about 1.5 million people), damaging other infrastructure, such as the city’s airport.

Microsoft’s AI performed an artificial intelligence analysis of the satellite image of Good Lab, showing 515 buildings, 80%-100% damage, and another 1,524 were damaged by 20%-80%. Another 180,004 buildings lost 0 to 20%, and the AI4G Lab noted that the evaluation was “preliminary guideline and required on-site verification”.

The World Health Organization said three hospitals in the region had 22 reports of damage in the region.

“The scale of deaths and injuries is not fully understood and the figures are expected to increase,” the UN agency said in a report.

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“The damage of the earthquake has overwhelmed the affected areas’ efforts to manage the influx of injured people into the medical facilities in the affected areas. Trauma and surgical care, blood transfusion supplies, anesthetics, essential medications and mental health support are urgently needed.”

The lack of heavy machinery slowed down search and rescue operations, forcing many to manually search for survivors in the ruthless heat, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) per day.

Myanmar’s neighbors and allies are loan aid

Now, international rescue teams from several countries are on the scene, including from Russia, China, India and several Southeast Asian countries.

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An Indian team was trying to reach a lower level as they walked through fallen concrete slabs at a location in Mandalay on Sunday, reinforced with steel bars and powered by a portable generator.

They can be seen taking out a covered body and loading it into an ambulance.

The EU, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and others have announced millions of dollars in aid directly or through local partners and international organizations.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would help, but so far, Myanmar has no known help.

A small number of U.S. military personnel were sent to Bangkok, and the earthquake rocked the Thai capital, killing at least 18 people, many of whom collapsed on a part of the high-rise building on the construction site.

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Another 33 people were reportedly injured, 78 of them missing, mainly at a construction site near the popular Chatuchak market.

Heavy equipment was shut down and authorities urged onlookers to remain silent as they used machines to try to find any signs of life under the rubble.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt told reporters on the spot that signs had been found Sunday night, although experts were unable to determine if it was a machine error.

Still, he said he still hopes to find survivors.

“Even if a life is saved, it is worth the effort,” he said.

Myanmar, also known as Myanmar, is located on the fault in Sagaing, a major north-south fault that separates the Indian plate and the Sunda plate.

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When the 200 km (125 miles) of the fault partially ruptured, the earthquake caused extensive damage on many territories in the central country, including Sagan, Mandalay, Mandalay, Markwe and Bago regions and the mountain states.

In addition to earthquake damage, the bloody civil war has been complicated in most parts of the country, including in affected areas. In 2021, the military seized power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, which triggered what has since turned into a huge armed resistance.

Government forces have lost control over much of Myanmar, and many places are dangerous or impossible for aid groups. According to the United Nations, the battle has been displaced, with nearly 20 million people displaced.

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Ellery of the International Rescue Commission noted that the areas hit hardest by last year’s floods have been severely damaged, many of which have been killed, and are also a place where many internally displaced people in the country seek shelter.

Many people have been sleeping outside since the earthquake, either because their homes were destroyed or worried that the ongoing aftershocks might disappoint them.

She said finding people shelter will be a major challenge as the monsoon begins in May.

“But now we focus on instant responses,” she said.

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