Burma earthquake death toll rises to 3,085, humanitarian crisis deepens
More than 3,000 people have now died from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Burma last week, which destroyed thousands of buildings and sent the war-torn country into a deeper humanitarian crisis.
Burma’s military-led government announced that the death toll from Friday’s earthquake rose to 3,085, while 4,715 people were injured and another 341 are missing.
"With infrastructure compromised and patient numbers surging, access to health care has become nearly impossible in many of the worst-hit areas," according to the U.N. "Thousands of people are in urgent need of trauma care, surgical interventions and treatment for disease outbreaks."
The World Health Organization assessed so far that four hospitals and one health center had been completely destroyed, while another 32 hospitals and 18 health centers had been partially damaged.
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The agency is now preparing $1 million of relief supplies, including body bags, and is warning of a rising risk of diseases such as cholera spreading in affected areas, according to Reuters.
"Cholera remains a particular concern for all of us," Elena Vuolo, the deputy head of WHO’s Burma office, told the news agency.
"I've heard that in the next day or two there are rains [expected]," added Titon Mitra, the Burma representative of the United Nations Development Program.
"If that hits, we've got people, lots of people now, in temporary shelters, makeshift camps out on the streets, and that's going to be a real problem," he reportedly added.
With many left homeless by the earthquake, and many others staying away from their homes over fears ongoing aftershocks will bring them down, workers in Burma’s capital of Naypyitaw labored in the 104-degree heat to set up big tents in open fields to provide some shelter.
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More than 1,550 international rescuers were operating alongside locals on Thursday, according to a statement from the military. Rescue supplies and equipment have been sent by 17 countries.
Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.
The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the U.N.
In Bangkok, Thailand, where the quake brought down a skyscraper under construction, the search for survivors and bodies continued as Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said a possible sound of life was detected in the rubble. By mid-afternoon there on Thursday, more than 144 hours after the earthquake, nobody had been found.
Twenty-two people were killed and 35 injured in the city, mostly by the collapse of the unfinished building.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.