The Myanmar earthquake destroyed buildings, bridges and critical communication infrastructure in Mandalay last week, hampering the ability of rescue workers to reach those trapped under the rubble and provide relief to those who survived the calamity.
Due to a lack of resources and broken communication channels, rescue workers are forced clear the rubble by hand in the hope of finding someone still alive. The official death toll is now 1700, reports Hindustan Times.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on Friday with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings and damaging other infrastructure like the city’s airport. The death toll is expected to rise because many of those trapped under debris haven't received help yet.
AP has reported that the stench of rotting corpses has permeated the air of the junta-led country's second-largest city.
The rescue work has been primarily conducted by the local residents without the aid of heavy equipment. They have been moving rubble by hand and with shovels in 41-degree Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) heat.
Those who survived the earthquake are spending their nights in the streets. The homes of many had been destroyed; the rest are too scared to go to their houses in anticipation of aftershocks.
Cara Bragg, the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services, said hospitals are facing a shortage of staff and medical supplies. “It's mainly been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones.”
“I've also seen reports that now some countries are sending search and rescue teams up to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there's a shortage of medical supplies, and people are struggling to find food and clean water,” she said.
With the Mandalay airport damaged and the control tower toppled in the capital Naypitaw's airport, all commercial flights into the cities have been shut down. Official relief efforts in Naypitaw were prioritizing government offices and staff housing, leaving locals and aid groups to dig through the rubble by hand in residential areas, the hot sun beating down and the smell of death in the air, reported AP.
Myanmar's junta said in a statement Sunday afternoon that about 1,700 people were confirmed dead so far, about 3,400 injured and around 300 more missing, reported Bloomberg.
Foreign aid has started to arrive. Two Indian C-17 military transport aircraft were able to land late Saturday at Naypitaw with a field hospital unit and some 120 personnel who were then to travel north to Mandalay to establish a 60-bed emergency treatment center.
A convoy of 17 Chinese cargo trucks carrying critical shelter and medical supplies was expected to reach Mandalay.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday that Myanmar was woefully short of medical supplies. It also flagged destroyed internet, other communication channels and roads, which are impeding rescue operations.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
