Uphill battle to restore services after Myanmar quake

Essential services are yet to be restored to the areas of Myanmar worst hit by a huge earthquake three weeks ago, and emergency workers recovering bodies and clearing debris are contending with regular aftershocks and lack of resources, humanitarian services say.

A situation report by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, says frequent strong aftershocks continue to shake central Myanmar almost daily, increasing fear and uncertainty among affected residents, disrupting response efforts and exacerbating the pressure on already limited resources and services.

“Three weeks after catastrophic twin earthquakes hit Myanmar on 28 March, the worst-affected communities are still without safe shelter, clean water and sanitation, stable electricity, health care and essential services,” the report says.

The epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude quake was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, but it hit a wide swathe of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states including the capital, Naypyitaw.

It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the country’s civil war that had internally displaced more than three million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the United Nations.

A report in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper published on Saturday said the quake’s death toll had reached 3726, with 5105 people injured and 129 still missing.

It said 1975 international rescuers and medical workers from 25 countries had collaborated with local rescuers in saving 653 people and recovering 753 bodies from under rubble.

Myanma Alinn said 65,096 houses and buildings, 2514 schools, 4317 Buddhist monasterial living quarters, 6027 pagodas and temples, 350 hospitals and clinics, 170 bridges, 586 dams and 203 sections of the country’s main highway were damaged by the earthquake.

The United Nations Development Program earlier in April estimated that at least 2.5 million tonnes, or roughly 125,000 truckloads, of debris from the quake needs to be removed.

It based its estimate on remote sensing analysis of images obtained by satellites.

UN-Habitat, the UN agency for human settlements, said its staff and the Myanmar Engineering Society were collaborating in assessing widespread building damage in earthquake-affected regions.

In Naypyitaw, almost all rescuers had ceased their relief efforts, while government buildings that were damaged by the earthquake had not yet been repaired and remain in their post-earthquake condition, said a resident who asked not to be named for security reasons.

In residential areas, people have almost completed clearing the debris on their own.

Saturday’s report in Myanma Alinn said Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, told his cabinet members during a meeting on Friday that the urban layout of Naypyitaw would be redesigned.