Myanmar quake death toll hits 1,600

MANDALAY – The smell of decaying bodies permeated the streets of Myanmar’s second largest city yesterday, as people worked frantically by hand to clear rubble in the hope of finding someone still alive, two days after a massive earthquake struck that killed more than 1,600 people and left countless others buried.

The magnitude 7.7 quake hit midday Friday with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings and damaging other infrastructure like the city’s airport.

Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country in the midst of a civil war.

The search for survivors has been primarily conducted by local residents without the aid of heavy equipment, moving rubble by hand and with shovels in 41-degree-Celsius heat, with only the occasional tracked excavator to be seen.

A 5.1-magnitude aftershock Sunday afternoon prompted screams from those in the streets, and then the work continued.

Many of Mandalay’s 1.5 million people spent the night sleeping on the streets, either left homeless by the quake – which also shook neighboring Thailand and killed at least 17 people there – or worried that the continuing aftershocks might cause structures left unstable to collapse.

So far, 1,644 people have been reported killed in Myanmar and 3,408 missing, but many areas have not yet been reached, and many rescue efforts so far have been undertaken by people working by hand to try and clear rubble, said Cara Bragg, the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services in Myanmar.

“It’s mainly been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones,” Bragg said after bring briefed by her colleague in Mandalay.

“I’ve also seen reports that now some countries are sending search and rescue teams up to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are really struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there’s a shortage of medical supplies, and people are struggling to find food and clean water,” she added.

The organization was sending a team by road yesterday to assess peoples’ most pressing needs so that it could target its own response.

With the Mandalay airport damaged and the control tower toppled in the capital Naypitaw’s airport, all commercial flights into the cities have been shut down.

Official relief efforts in Naypitaw were prioritizing government offices and staff housing, leaving locals and aid groups to dig through the rubble by hand in residential areas, the hot sun beating down and the smell of death in the air.

Still, two Indian C-17 military transport aircraft were able to land late Saturday at Naypitaw with a field hospital unit and some 120 personnel who were then to travel north to Mandalay to establish a 60-bed emergency treatment center, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry. Other Indian supplies were flown into Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, which has been the hub of other foreign relief efforts.

Yesterday, a convoy of 17 Chinese cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies was expected to reach Mandalay, after making the arduous journey by road from Yangon.

The 650-kilometer journey has been taking 14 hours or longer, with clogged roads and traffic diverted from the main highway to skirt damage from the earthquake.

At the same time, the window of opportunity to find anyone alive is rapidly closing. Most rescues occur within the first 24 hours after a disaster, and then survival chances drop as each day passes.

An initial report on earthquake relief efforts issued Saturday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted the severe damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hampering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, assistive devices, essential medicines, and tents for health workers.”

China said it has sent more than 135 rescue personnel and experts, along with supplies like medical kits and generators and pledged around $13.8 million in emergency aid. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said it had flown in 120 rescuers and supplies to Yangon and the country’s Health Ministry said Moscow had sent a medical team to Myanmar.

Teams from Singapore have been working already in Naypitaw. Malaysia dispatched a team of 50 personnel yesterday with trucks, search and rescue equipment and medical supplies. Thailand said 55 of its soldiers arrived in Yangon yesterday to help with search and rescue operations, while Britain announced a $13 million aid package to help its locally funded partners, already in Myanmar, to respond to the crisis.

4 Pinoys missing

Four Filipinos in Myanmar remain unaccounted for, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

In an interview on dzBB, DFA migration affairs Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said two of the four Filipinos are a husband and wife residing in a building that collapsed.

“According to the latest details, four Filipinos are unaccounted for,” De Vega said in Filipino.

“Two of those missing are married. It was their building of residence which collapsed,” he said. “Myanmar is asking for help from other countries. Many have died.”

The Philippine embassy in Thailand denied reports claiming that 10 Filipinos died in the earthquake in Thailand, calling the information false.

De Vega said no Filipinos were hurt in Thailand. “In Thailand, there are no Filipinos injured or killed,” he added.

The Philippine embassy in Myanmar said it continues to conduct welfare checks on affected Filipinos, and all embassy communication lines remain open to provide assistance and support.

The embassy is also preparing to deploy a team in Mandalay for an on-the-ground assessment and direct welfare checks on Filipinos in the area. Arrangements are also being made to mobilize and distribute essential supplies and basic necessities to those in need, including possible evacuation routes for relocation or repatriation.

“The embassy urges everyone to remain vigilant for possible aftershocks. We also encourage continued communication with fellow Filipinos in your community to ensure each other’s safety,” the embassy said in its advisory.

For emergencies, the embassy can be reached through the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) hotline (+95 998 521 0991) or the official Philippine Embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger.

Active faults in Phl

Meanwhile, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Teresito Bacolcol underscored the need for disaster preparedness, saying there are at least 175 active fault segments in the Philippines with some capable of generating strong earthquakes between magnitude 7.2 and 8.2. — Bella Cariaso