BANGKOK (AP) — Emergency rescue teams began to arrive on Sunday in the area of Myanmar most affected by a strong earthquake that killed over 1,600 people, although their efforts were hindered by damaged roads, collapsed bridges, irregular communications, and the challenges of operating in a country amidst a civil war.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck at noon on Friday with an epicenter near Mandalay, the second largest city in Myanmar, toppling dozens of buildings and damaging other infrastructure such as the city’s airport.
Many of Mandalay’s 1.5 million residents spent the night sleeping on the streets, either because they were left homeless by the earthquake, which also shook neighboring Thailand and killed at least 17 people there, or out of concern that the continuous aftershocks could cause unstable structures to collapse.
So far, 1,644 deaths have been reported in Myanmar and 3,408 people are missing, but authorities have not yet reached many areas, and a large part of the rescue efforts so far have been carried out by individuals working by hand to try to clear the rubble, said Cara Bragg, manager in Yangon for Catholic Relief Services in Myanmar.
“Mainly they have been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones,” she said after being informed by her colleague in Mandalay.
“I have seen reports that some countries are now sending search and rescue teams to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there is a shortage of medical supplies, and people are having trouble finding food and clean water,” Bragg added.
The organization would send a team by road on Sunday to assess the most urgent needs of the people and to be able to direct their own aid operation.
With the Mandalay airport damaged and the control tower collapsed at the capital’s Naypyidaw airport, all commercial flights to the cities have been disrupted.
Nevertheless, two Indian military transport planes C-17 were able to land late Saturday in Naypyidaw with a field hospital unit and about 120 personnel who would later travel north to Mandalay to establish a 60-bed emergency treatment center, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Other Indian supplies were transported to Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, which has been the focus of other foreign aid efforts.
On Sunday, it was expected that a convoy of 17 Chinese cargo trucks carrying critical shelters and medical supplies would arrive in Mandalay, after making the arduous journey by road from Yangon.
The 650-kilometer (400-mile) journey is taking 14 hours or more, with congested roads and traffic diverted from the main highway to avoid earthquake damage.
At the same time, the window of opportunity to find someone alive is quickly closing. Most rescues occur within the first 24 hours after a disaster, and then the chances of survival decrease as the days go by.
An initial report on the relief efforts for the earthquake issued on Saturday by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs pointed out the serious damage or destruction of many health facilities, and warned that a “severe shortage of medical supplies is hindering response efforts, including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthetics, assistive devices, essential medications, and tents for health workers.”
China said it has sent over 135 rescuers and experts along with supplies such as medical kits and generators, and promised around 13.8 million dollars in emergency aid. The Russian Ministry of Emergencies said it had sent 120 rescuers and supplies to Yangon, and the Russian Ministry of Health said Moscow had sent a medical team to Myanmar.
In neighboring Thailand, the earthquake shook a large part of the country and brought down a high-rise building that was under construction in Bangkok, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the epicenter.
So far, 10 dead bodies have been found in the construction area near the popular Chatuchak market, where 83 people are missing, and the latest body was recovered from the rubble early Sunday morning. In total, 17 deaths have been reported from the earthquake in Thailand so far.
In Myanmar, also known as Burma, rescue efforts so far are focused on Mandalay and Naypyidaw, believed to be the most affected, but many other places were impacted and little is known so far about the damages there.
“We are hearing reports of hundreds of people trapped in different areas. Right now we are at 1,600 (confirmed deaths) and not many data are coming out, but it is assumed that it will increase to thousands based on the impacts. This is just anecdotal information at the moment,” Bragg pointed out.
Beyond the earthquake damages, rescue efforts are complicated by the bloody civil war that is shaking much of the country, including the areas affected by the earthquake. In 2001, the Army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which has since triggered significant armed resistance.
Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are dangerous or impossible to reach for aid groups. More than three million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.
The government army has been fighting for a long time against established militias and the newly formed pro-democracy People’s Defense Forces, and had greatly restricted much-needed aid efforts for the large population already displaced by the war even before the earthquake.
On Saturday, the national unity government in the opposition shadow of Myanmar, to which the PDF militias are loyal, announced a partial unilateral ceasefire to facilitate earthquake relief efforts.
The Army did not immediately comment on the announcement and continued with the airstrikes even after the earthquake.
The Three Brothers Alliance, a group of three of Myanmar’s most powerful and well-armed militias that launched a combined offensive in October 2023 that broke a strategic stalemate with the military regime, did not mention a ceasefire in a statement on Saturday, but said they were ready to assist.
“We will provide assistance quickly to those affected by the earthquake to the best of our abilities, with a spirit of humanity, unity, and brotherhood,” he said.