SLOW ACCESS TO WORST-HIT ZONES
On Saturday, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) deployed its Operation Lionheart contingent to Myanmar.
The 80-member team comprises rescuers from the elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART), operationally ready National Servicemen, full-time National Servicemen medical doctors, paramedics, search specialists with four canines, hazardous materials specialists, and support officers.
Myanmar’s allies such as China, Russia and Belarus are also among the countries that have sent aid.
In a statement, doctors and civil servants on strike said they are prepared to be deployed to junta-controlled zones, provided the military can guarantee their safety and will not arrest them.
Experts warned that access to the worst-hit areas will be slow as roads and bridges have been destroyed in the quake.
“I think we will only find dead bodies,” said one Mandalay fireman.
“Because it has been so long since they were under the rubble. I’m not sure of their chances of survival, because of the pressure, the vibration and the intensity of the damage.”
This is not the first time Myanmar has been hit with a natural disaster since the 2021 military coup that ousted a democratically elected government and plunged the nation into civil war.
Last year, Typhoon Yagi triggered severe floods and mudslides in Myanmar, killing more than 400 and destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of crops.
“We’ve seen over and over again the resilience of Myanmar’s people,” said Karah Brink, a spokesperson at humanitarian service organisation Partners Relief and Development.
“But this crisis is taking its toll and at this moment, the needs are very dire. There’s great concern about the junta’s ability to meet these needs and respond with empathy to the people of Myanmar.”
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/myanmar-earthquake-rescue-disaster-relief-military-junta-crisis-5034371
