Efforts to locate survivors following the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 are increasingly winding down as of Monday, giving way to more extensive relief and recovery operations. According to an AP News article, the aftermath of the earthquake has been catastrophic, with the death toll surpassing 3,600 and continuing to rise.
A situation report released late Monday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), indicated that over 17.2 million individuals reside in the affected regions and are in dire need of food, drinking water, medical care, cash support, and emergency housing. In Naypyitaw, the capital city, residents are busy clearing debris and salvaging materials from their damaged homes, all under persistent rain, while military personnel work to remove the rubble from various Buddhist monasteries, shared the article.
It goes on to say that Myanmar Fire Services Department reported on Monday that ten bodies were retrieved from the wreckage of a collapsed building in Mandalay, which is the country’s second-largest city. The article indicated that with the completion of their operations to search for survivors, international rescue teams from Singapore, Malaysia, and India have returned home, marking a decline in the number of rescue teams active in Naypyitaw’s residential neighborhoods. The magnitude 7.7 quake affected a wide expanse of the country, leading to significant destruction across six regions and states, and severely disrupting power, telecommunications, and infrastructure.
Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, announced that the earthquake’s death toll now stands at 3,600, with 5,017 individuals injured and 160 still unaccounted for. His statement highlighted that search and rescue efforts involved 1,738 personnel from 20 different nations, resulting in the recovery of 653 survivors. He also specified that the earthquake has been officially denoted as “the Big Mandalay Earthquake” to facilitate consistent future documentation.
The OCHA report emphasized the dire situation: “Entire communities have been upended, forcing people to seek shelter in makeshift conditions, disrupting markets, worsening psychosocial distress and bringing essential services—including running water, sanitation and health—to the verge of collapse.”
Moreover, the report noted that the displaced population faces extreme temperatures during the region’s hottest month, and with rains already beginning in Mandalay, additional challenges arise for those forced to live outdoors.
Meanwhile, AP News said that tensions reportedly persist between Myanmar’s military government and its adversaries, who have launched mutual accusations of ceasefire violations, complicating relief efforts amid an ongoing civil conflict that has plagued the country since the army’s 2021 coup.