Myanmar’s neighbours deployed warships and aircraft loaded with relief materials and rescue personnel on Sunday as international aid efforts intensified following a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The disaster, which struck on Friday, has left at least 1,600 people dead and 3,400 injured, according to the country’s military government.
“All military and civilian hospitals, as well as healthcare workers, must work together in a coordinated and efficient manner to ensure effective medical response,” said junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, as reported by state-run media.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) has warned that the death toll could exceed 10,000, with potential economic losses surpassing Myanmar’s annual economic output. The quake also impacted neighbouring Thailand, where an under-construction skyscraper collapsed, killing 17 people in Bangkok and leaving 78 trapped under the rubble.
According to the United Nations, the earthquake has severely damaged critical infrastructure, including an airport, highways, and bridges, hampering humanitarian relief efforts. The disaster struck a nation already destabilised by civil war, which has escalated since the military coup in 2021 that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The conflict has displaced over 3.5 million people and crippled essential services like healthcare.
In response, the opposition National Unity Government (NUG), which includes remnants of the ousted administration, announced that anti-junta militias under its command would pause all offensive military actions for two weeks from Sunday. “The NUG, together with resistance forces, allied organisations and civil society groups, will carry out rescue operations,” it said in a statement.
Despite the ongoing relief efforts, residents in some of the hardest-hit areas reported that government assistance was scarce. In Sagaing, near the earthquake’s epicentre, resident Han Zin described widespread devastation. “What we are seeing here is widespread destruction—many buildings have collapsed into the ground,” he said, adding that the town had been without electricity since the quake and was running out of drinking water. “We have received no aid, and there are no rescue workers in sight.”
Across the Irrawaddy River in Mandalay, a rescue worker said that most relief operations were being carried out by small, self-organised groups lacking proper equipment. “We have been approaching collapsed buildings, but some structures remain unstable while we work,” he said, speaking anonymously due to security concerns.
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