In parts of Myanmar hit by a powerful earthquake three weeks ago, key services have still not been restored, according to aid agencies, with rescuers recovering bodies and clearing rubble facing repeated aftershocks and a lack of resources.
A report released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) notes that frequent and powerful tremors continue to rock central Myanmar on an almost daily basis, increasing fear and uncertainty among those affected, disrupting response efforts and increasing the strain on already scarce resources and services.
“Three weeks have passed since two devastating earthquakes struck Myanmar on March 28, and the hardest-hit communities still lack safe shelter, clean water and sanitation, stable electricity, health care and basic services,” the report said.
The 7.7-magnitude quake had its epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, but its impact spread across vast swathes of the country, causing severe damage to six regions and states, including the capital Naypyitaw.
This has worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis caused by the country's civil conflict, which has left more than three million people internally displaced and some 20 million in need, according to the United Nations.
The death toll from the quake rose to 3,726, with 5,105 injured and 129 missing, state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper said on Saturday.
The report said 1,975 international rescuers and medical workers from 25 countries worked with local rescuers to save 653 people and recover 753 bodies from the rubble.
According to Myanma Alinn, the earthquake damaged 65,096 homes and buildings, 2,514 schools, 4,317 residential buildings of Buddhist monasteries, 6,027 pagodas and temples, 350 hospitals and clinics, 170 bridges, 586 dams and 203 sections of the country's main highway.
The Myanmar Fire Service, the official disaster management agency covering many parts of the country, said rescuers were carrying out search and rescue operations, clearing debris from major buildings and returning valuables, money and documents found in the rubble to their owners.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
