• After shocking Myanmar, 3,400 people were injured and 300 were missing.
• Team from India, China, Singapore, Thailand.
• The UN agency said the hard parts of the hospital worked hard to deal with it.
  

Bangkok: The damage from the Myanmar earthquake continued to rise on Sunday as foreign rescue teams and aid rushed to poor countries where hospitals were overwhelmed and some communities scrambled to carry out rescue efforts with limited resources.

The military government said the most powerful earthquake in Myanmar was one of the most powerful in a century, shocking Southeast Asian countries with war-torn wars on Friday, with about 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and more than 300 missing as of Sunday.

Government Chief Min Aung Hlaing has warned that death toll could increase, and his administration faces a challenging situation.

India, China and Thailand are one of Myanmar’s neighbors that have sent relief materials and teams, as well as aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.

“The destruction is broad and humanitarian demand is increasing,” the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent said in a statement.

“As temperatures rise, the monsoon season is approaching in just a few weeks, and it is urgent to stabilize affected communities before a secondary crisis occurs.”

The United States has pledged to provide $2 million in aid “through Myanmar’s humanitarian aid organizations” and said in a statement that an emergency response team from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (which is being cut at scale under the Trump administration) is deploying to Myanmar.

The destruction made Myanmar even more painful, already in chaos in a civil war that emerged nationwide after a military coup in 2021 dispelled Nobel Peace Prize winner Aun San Suu Kyi.

The country has 55 million critical infrastructure (including bridges, highways, airports and railways) that have damaged, humanitarian efforts have slowed down, and conflicts have hit the economy, displaced more than 3.5 million people and ravaged the health system.

In some areas near the epicenter, residents told Reuters that the government has little assistance and let people work on their own.

“It is necessary to resume transportation routes as soon as possible,” according to state media. “It is necessary to repair the railway and reopen the airport to make the rescue operations more effective.”

The U.S. Geological Service predictive modeling estimates that Myanmar’s death toll could end up in the top 10,000, with losses likely exceeding the country’s annual economic output.

“No aid, no rescuers”

The United Nations Office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said hospitals in parts of Myanmar in central and northwestern Myanmar are working to deal with the influx of injured people.

Thai authorities said the earthquake also shocked part of neighboring Thailand, shooting down a shortage of skyscrapers and killing 18 people in the capital.

At least 76 people were trapped under debris from the collapsed Bangkok building, where the rescue operation lasted for the third day, using drones and sniffing dogs to find survivors.

Myanmar opposition state unites the government, including remnants of the previous government, and its anti-Wu militia will cease all offensive military operations within two weeks from Sunday.

Resident Han Zin said that destruction in certain areas of Myanmar is near the epicenter of the earthquake, such as the town of Sagan near the epicenter of the earthquake.

“What we’re seeing here is extensive destruction – many buildings have collapsed,” he said on the phone, adding that the town has had no electricity most of the time since the disaster hit and drinking water was exhausted.

“We have not received any assistance and we cannot see the rescuers.”

Satellite images show that a major bridge connected to the part of the bridge near Mandalay Island, showing the span of the colonial-era structure submerged in the Ilawadi River.

“As the bridge is destroyed, Mandalay’s aid is also working to achieve,” Facebook said on Facebook.

“Food and medications are not available, and the increase in casualties is overwhelming the local small hospitals, which lacks the ability to treat all patients.”

“Can you hear my call?”

Two humanitarian workers and two residents said dozens of people were trapped under collapsed buildings in Mandalay, most of whom could not reach or evacuate without heavy machinery.

“My team in Mandalay is using work gloves, ropes and basic kits to dig and retrieve people,” said a humanitarian worker. Reuters did not name it because of safety concerns.

“There are countless trapped and still missing. Due to the number of trapped and unknown (if still alive), deaths cannot be counted at present.”

A video taken by Mandalay residents on Saturday shared with Reuters showing patients on the bed, some dripping beds, on the ground outside a 500-bed orthopedic hospital in the city.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the earthquake in Mandalay Mann (WHO) has damaged public and private health facilities in Mandalay, including parts of Mandalay General Hospital and Mandalay Medical University.

Rescue workers from Russia and India are heading to Mandalay, and multiple teams of rescue workers in China, Thailand and Singapore have also arrived in the country.

In Bangkok, a collapsed 33-story building, rescuers surrounded by broken concrete piles and twisted metal continue to work to rescue dozens of workers trapped under rubble.

Thai police commander Teerasak Thongmo said his police and rescue dog team were competing against time to find survivors, struggling to move around metal fragments and sharp edges on unstable structures.

“At the moment, our team is trying to find anyone who may still be alive. In the first 72 hours, we must work hard to save those who are still alive,” he said.

Relatives and friends of missing and trapped construction workers awaiting news near the rescue operation. Some people are broken.

“ploy, ploy, ploy, my daughter, I’m here to serve you now!” A woman cried as she was hugged by two other people. “ploy, can you hear me calling you?”