By Agence France-Presse
The death toll from a major earthquake in Myanmar has risen above 3,300, state media said Saturday (April 5), as the United Nations aid chief made a renewed call for the world to help the disaster-struck nation.
The March 28 quake flattened buildings and destroyed infrastructure across the country, resulting in 3,354 deaths and 4,508 injuries, with 220 others missing, according to new figures published by the junta’s broadcaster.
More than one week after the disaster, many people in the country are still without shelter, either forced to sleep outdoors because their homes were destroyed or wary of further collapses.
A United Nations estimate suggests that more than three million people may have been affected by the 7.7-magnitude quake, compounding previous challenges caused by four years of civil war.
The UN’s top aid official on Saturday met with victims in the central Myanmar city of Mandalay — situated close to the epicenter and now grappling with severe damage across the city.
“The destruction is staggering…the world must rally behind the people of Myanmar”. Tom Fletcher declared in a post on X.
Myanmar: Ravaged by conflict, devastated by an earthquake
The new toll was announced after the country’s military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing returned from a rare foreign trip to a regional summit in Bangkok on Friday, where he met with leaders including the prime ministers of Thailand and India.
The general’s attendance at the summit courted controversy, with protesters at the venue displaying a banner calling him a “murderer” and anti-junta groups condemning his inclusion.
His armed forces have ruled Myanmar since a 2021 coup, when they wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a multi-sided conflict that has yet to be resolved.
The junta has reportedly conducted dozens of attacks since the earthquake, including at least 16 since a temporary truce was announced on Wednesday (April 2), the UN said on April 4 (Friday).
Years of fighting have left Myanmar’s economy and infrastructure in tatters, significantly hampering international efforts to provide relief since the quake.
China, Russia and India were among the first countries to provide support, sending rescue teams to Myanmar to help locate survivors.
The United States has traditionally been at the forefront of international disaster relief, but President Donald Trump has dismantled the country’s humanitarian aid agency upon his return to power.
Washington said Friday (April 4) it was adding $7 million on top of an earlier $2 million in assistance to Myanmar.
India navy delivers aid to quake-hit Myanmar
Meanwhile, India’s navy on Saturday (April 5) delivered hundreds of tons of food aid to earthquake-hit Myanmar, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met reclusive junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.
India was among the first countries to rush aid and rescue teams to its war-torn neighbor after a devastating 7.7-magnitude quake on March 28.
The latest aid from India comprised 442 tons of food, including rice, cooking oil, noodles and biscuits, the Indian embassy in Yangon said.
The consignment arrived via an Indian navy ship, INS Gharial, at Thilawa port.
Modi held a rare face-to-face meeting on Friday with Min Aung Hlaing on the sidelines of the Bangkok BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) meeting — the grouping of the seven nations on the Bay of Bengal.
“India is doing whatever is possible to assist our sisters and brothers of Myanmar in this critical time,” Modi was quoted as saying in a government statement on Friday (April 4).
India’s foreign ministry said that Modi told the junta chief that there was “no military solution to the conflict” and stressed the “importance of early restoration of a democratic process through inclusive and credible elections.”
The junta leader had issued a rare appeal for international aid following the earthquake, indicating the severity of the crisis.
Previous military regimes in the country have shunned foreign assistance even after major natural disasters.
Sri Lanka also sent a medical team and a plane loaded with supplies, many funded by donations from Buddhist temples, to Myanmar, a defense official said.
Moreover, Colombo has pledged more than $1 million to help quake victims in the fellow Buddhist nation.