MYRIAD CHALLENGES
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing issued an exceptionally rare appeal for international aid on Friday, indicating the severity of the calamity.
Previous military governments have shunned foreign assistance, even after major natural disasters.
Myanmar has already been ravaged by four years of civil war sparked by a military coup in 2021.
Reports have emerged of sporadic fighting even after the quake, with one rebel group telling AFP on Sunday that seven of its fighters were killed in an aerial attack soon after the tremors hit.
Anti-junta fighters in the country have declared a two-week partial ceasefire in quake-affected regions starting on Sunday, the shadow “National Unity Government” said in a statement.
The UN said overnight that a severe lack of medical equipment is hindering Myanmar’s response to the quake, while aid agencies have warned that the country is unprepared to deal with a disaster of this magnitude.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Sunday launched an emergency appeal for more than $100 million to help victims.
About 3.5 million people were displaced by the raging civil war, many at risk of hunger, even before the quake struck.
Rescue teams and aid have been arriving from donor countries around the world, with Thailand on Sunday dispatching 55 military personnel and six rescue dogs, along with equipment including cranes and diggers.
BANGKOK BUILDING COLLAPSE
Across the border in Thailand, rescuers in Bangkok worked on Sunday to pluck out survivors trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed after the Friday earthquake.
At least 18 people have been killed in the Thai capital, city authorities said late on Sunday afternoon, with 33 injured and 78 still missing.
Most of the deaths were workers killed in the tower collapse, while most of the missing are believed to be trapped under the immense pile of debris where the skyscraper once stood.
The shock of the moment made 22-year-old survivor, Burmese worker Kyaw Lin Htet, feel like he “lost consciousness”.
“I never expected this would happen to me as we only see this on TV,” he told AFP at the site on Sunday.
Sniffer dogs and thermal imaging drones have also been deployed to seek signs of life in the collapsed building, close to the Chatuchak weekend market popular among tourists.
Authorities said engineers would be assessing and repairing the 165 damaged buildings around the city on Sunday.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/mandalay-myanmar-rescue-efforts-earthquake-bangkok-thailand-5033136
