RESCUE attempts for survivors of Friday’s deadly earthquakes in Myanmar are under way even while air strikes from the country’s military-run government continue to rain down on its population.
More than 1700 people are known to have died so far in Myanmar. The 7.7 shallow quake also killed at least 18 people in neighbouring Thailand, where dozens of construction workers are still missing under a collapsed high-rise building. The initial convulsion was followed quickly by a tremor measuring 6.8.
It is the strongest quake to strike the country since 1912. The epicentre was in Mandalay, Myanmar, which is still experiencing aftershocks. Many monks are thought to be trapped under a collapsed monastery in the city where they had been sitting an exam. As the quake struck during the last Friday of Ramadan, there are also reports that many of the country’s Muslim minority were inside mosques that collapsed. In the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, a hospital has been declared a “mass casualty area”.
Myanmar has been in the grip of a civil war after a military coup in 2021 (News, 19 March 2021). The repressive military regime controls only about 20 per cent of the country, while the rest is in the hands of armed resistance groups and ethnic rebel groups. The junta frequently carries out indiscriminate air strikes in civil areas.
The UN said that the continued strikes since Friday were “completely outrageous and unacceptable”.
Tom Andrews, a Special Rapporteur, told the BBC that it was “nothing short of incredible” that the military were continuing to “drop bombs when you are trying to rescue people” after the earthquake.
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, was travelling in the capital when the quake struck. He described to the Vatican news service how cars lost control as huge craters opened up along the road. Residents, he said, were calling the quake “the great earthquake of the century”.
“Myanmar has been having a torrid time for the last four years, and the earthquake came at a very sad time for our people. The areas affected are already affected by multidimensional crises of conflict, the collapse of the economy, and huge displacement,” he said.
“I saw the poignant scenes of men and women rushing through the roads, seeking safety as the earthquake sent shivers through their bones. It was a shattering experience to see nature colluding with other forces in exacerbating our people’s suffering.”
In a statement issued later, he called for “an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” to allow aid to get in. “The Catholic Church in Myanmar, with the prayer and wishes from Pope Francis, joins our country’s men and women in solidarity as they face yet another crisis.
“This tragic event has further exacerbated the profound multidimensional humanitarian crisis already gripping Myanmar, where, as per the UN estimate, nearly 20 million people, including 6.3 million children, are in dire need of assistance.”
He continued: “The Catholic Church affirms its unwavering support for the affected people, and sends out condolences to families that lost their dear ones. We especially pray for those who perished in the places of worship in pagodas and mosques. The Catholic Church will mobilise support to assist with the life-saving needs of food, medicine, and shelter.”
Many places of worship have been destroyed. St Michael’s, a Catholic church in Mandalay, has been destroyed for a third time: first by fire, and then as a result of another earthquake.
The Pope has sent a message of condolence to Myanmar and Thailand. Cardinal Bo said that the message was received as a “soothing balm of consolation for our people”.
He called for food, medicine and shelter, and for a humanitarian corridor to be established.
Unusually, the military regime has called for international aid, and rescue workers are beginning to arrive in the country. China was one of the first to respond. Government aid is said to be scarce, and local residents have organised search and rescue teams by themselves.
The Red Cross said that Myanmar was facing “a level of devastation that hasn’t been seen for over a century in Asia”.
Benedict Rogers, a human-rights activist who specialises in Myanmar, said that it was likely that many thousands had been killed in the quake, and he urged the international community to respond.
“It is vital that international aid is channelled through local aid agencies along the country’s borders, with significant experience in cross-border delivery, and that aid that is delivered through agencies working within the country is not misappropriated, stolen, or blocked by the junta,” he wrote in The Spectator at the weekend.