The Military Board that governs Myanmar has reported this Saturday that the earthquake that shook the country’s center-born on Friday has caused at least 1,644 the dead, 3,408 the wounded and 139 missing, according to the latest data collected by the EFE agency.
The dictatorial regime, which holds power in most of the territory of ancient Burma since the 2021 coup d’etat, has published the figures in a statement released by the Telegram channel of the National Radio and Television Service (MRTV), after informing hours before almost 700 dead only in the Mandalay region, one of the most affected. The Chief of the Board, Min Aung Hlaing, visited this Saturday the capital and the military have reported through MRTV that data is still being collected.
The tremor of magnitude 7.7 occurred this Friday at 12.50 local time, in the northwest of Myanmar, —6.20 GMT—, 10 kilometers deep and with the epicenter between the cities of Sagaing and Mandalay, about 17 kilometers from the last city, the second largest city of Myanmar. According to the United States Geological Service, which measures seismic activity worldwide, just 11 minutes after the first earthquake there has been a replica of magnitude 6.4 in the same area.
A statistical model prepared by the US Geological Studies Service, cited by the New York Times, I already anticipated this Friday that it was very likely that the total victims exceed 1,000 people, or be even much higher. The state of emergency in six zones have been declared: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Shan, Naipyidó and Bago.
Myanmar’s army took power in the country through a coup d’etat in 2021. The Asian country is going through an economic and social crisis since then, with armed clashes in much of the country between the army and civil and prodemocratic guerrillas, which hinders the access and distribution of humanitarian aid.
The Military Board made an unusual request for help after declaring the state of emergency and China has already announced that it will send 100 million yuan (about 13.8 million dollars) as “emergency humanitarian aid” and the country led by Xi Jinping has already sent expert rescuers to the area of the earthquake. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, assured questions of journalists on Friday the sending of 5 million humanitarian aid and India has also sent at least one military plane loaded with essential products.
“The UN and its partners are mobilizing resources and urgent support to meet all the affected communities, wherever they are,” said the UN humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar, the Italian Marcoluigi Corsi. The UN approved on Friday to allocate 5 million dollars to support humanitarian work in the country, while calling to make donations in favor of this cause.
The tremors have also reached Thailand, where at least six people have died and 22 are injured, according to the country’s authorities. Almost 50 people have been trapped after the collapse of a skyscraper under construction in Bangkok – more than 600 kilometers from the epicenter – where some 300 workers worked, as reported by the Thai police.
Thailand Defense Minister reported 101 disappeared in the place where the building that has been reduced throughout the day to 49 people has been collapsed. However, the governor of Bangkok has said that the damages are limited and less than what was thought at first. Even so, the authorities have declared the state of emergency in the Thai capital.
More than 2,600 buildings collapsed in Myanmar
Humanitarian sources in the field in Myanmar have told EFE that many buildings collapsed in Mandalay while a monastery collapsed in the city of Taungoo and 20 children were trapped. The Military Board has later confirmed the collapse of more than 2,600 buildings, including homes, schools and pagodas of the Buddhist majority. As some witnesses have reported to the Myanmar Now, parts of the Historic Palace of Mandalay have suffered serious damage, while a bridge in the town of Sagaing has been completely destroyed.
“One of the most important things is that it is understood that not only the buildings that have cracks and fissures are affected, but also that there are buildings and public structures that have collapsed. This includes roads, bridges and public buildings,” said the coordinator of the International Federation of the Red Cross (FICR), Marie Manrique, in statements by videoconference to Efe from Yangon. The effects of the earthquake have also felt in Yangon, the main city of the country, where buildings were evacuated.
Board spokesman Zaw Min Tun has requested international help. “We want it and need it,” he said, very unusual gesture for the normally hermetic military government. The World Health and United Nations Organization, in addition to numerous international leaders, have shown their willingness to intervene for catastrophe care. Doctors Without Borders warn of a potential “devastating” impact on the population.
Myanmar is located near an area of high tectonic activity due to the pressure between the Plate of the Indian subcontinent, to the south, and the Euroasy, to the north. However, this Friday’s earthquake is one of the strongest recorded in recent years. In August 2016, an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 degrees shook the country.
The Military Board continues to bombard rebel areas
The Myanmar Military Forces have continued the bombings of the rebel areas despite the destruction caused by the earthquake, as the opposition Government of National Unity (NUG) denounced this Saturday.
In a mobile telephony, the NUG, which controls large areas of the country mainly on the periphery, indicated that this Friday and this Saturday there have been bombardments in the Sagaing region and in the Shan state, both affected by the seism that shook the central region of the country.
The Myanmar Shwe Phee Myay news agency also reported yesterday that several houses were destroyed in a Shan village due to the army bombings in an area under the control of the Guerrillas National Liberation Army Ta’ang, although personal damage had to be regretted.
The army has declared the state of emergency in six zones: Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Shan, Naipyidó (where the homonymous capital is) and Bago, areas in which there is an active conflict between the army and different guerrillas, including ethnic minorities and prodemocratic groups that emerged after the 2021 coup. Despite the fact that the antijun Air superiority thanks to Chinese and Russian manufacturing aircraft.
The United Nations Rapporteur for Myanmar, Tom Andrews, warned that the military regime uses military aid as “weapon and asked the international community to channel it through the democratic opposition, headed by the self -denominated national unity government, and ethnic groups opposed to the army.
Source: www.eldiario.es
