Update on the Myanmar earthquake: Resistance sympathizers have called for relief efforts to include freely transported aid to areas governed by the National Unity Government. The announcement was made just before midnight, and the military did not immediately comment.
Myanmar Earthquake update: Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, which coordinates the popular struggle against the ruling military, announced a unilateral partial ceasefire on Saturday (March 29) to facilitate earthquake relief efforts. An announcement said its armed wing, the People’s Defense Force, will implement a two-week pause in offensive military operations starting Sunday in earthquake-affected areas. It said it would “collaborate with the UN and non-governmental organisations to ensure security, transportation, and the establishment of temporary rescue and medical camps,” in the areas it controls.
In order to provide the earthquake victims with comprehensive emergency rescue and relief assistance, the statement urged all residents and ethnic groups to work together with the NUG and revolutionary forces.
The military, which has severely limited much-needed assistance efforts to the more than 3 million people displaced by war even before the earthquake, faces a serious political challenge from the plan. According to independent Myanmar media, even after the earthquake, the military persisted in airstrikes against areas controlled by resistance.
Death count rises to over 1,600 in Myanmar
Major catastrophes have been known to contribute to the restoration of peace in conflict-torn places, most notably in Aceh province, Indonesia, which was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. There is not much precedent for this in Myanmar, though, where military regimes have continued to impose oppression even after devastating cyclones. As more bodies were recovered from the debris of the several buildings that collapsed when the terrible 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck close to the nation’s second-largest city, Myanmar’s ruling military reported on state television that the confirmed death toll from the incident had risen to 1,644.
Compared to the 1,002 number that was revealed just hours ago, the new total represents a significant increase, highlighting the challenge of verifying casualties over a vast area and the possibility that the numbers will continue to rise after Friday’s earthquake. While the number of missing people increased to 139, the number of injured people soared to 3,408. Rescue operations were in progress, particularly in Mandalay, the nation’s No. 1 affected city.
two cities and the capital, Naypyitaw. However, the damaged and seemingly unsuitable airports in those locations are impeding the efforts of personnel and equipment that have been flown in from other countries.
Movement throughout Myanmar is hazardous and challenging due to the civil war, which makes relief efforts more challenging and increases concerns that the death toll may still grow sharply. A number of aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 6.4, followed the Friday midday earthquake, which had its epicentre close to Mandalay. It caused roads to buckle, bridges to collapse, dams to rupture, and buildings in numerous regions to fall to the ground.
While much of the city was without phone, internet, or electricity on Saturday, workers in Naypyidaw labored to fix damaged roadways. Many buildings, including some units housing government civil officials, were destroyed in the earthquake, but authorities on Saturday closed off that area of the city. More harm in Thailand The earthquake shook the greater Bangkok region, which is home to over 17 million people, as well as other regions of neighboring Thailand.
Rescue operation underway in Bangkok
According to Bangkok municipal officials, there are now 10 confirmed fatalities, 9 at the location of the collapsed high-rise that was being built close to the capital’s well-known Chatuchak market, and 78 persons who have not yet been found. In the hopes of discovering more survivors, rescue operations were still underway. Although additional heavy machinery was brought in on Saturday to move the piles of debris, relatives and friends of the missing were losing faith that they would be discovered alive.
“When I arrived and saw the ruin, I prayed that they had survived, but where could they be? Which corner? Do they remain alive? As she waited for updates regarding her spouse, who is from Myanmar, and five friends who worked at the site, 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek sobbed, “I am still praying that all six are alive.”
According to Thai officials, the majority of the country’s provinces experienced the earthquake and its aftershocks. The sole fatalities were reported in Bangkok, while other northern locations, including Chiang Mai, reported damage to residential buildings, hospitals, and temples. Myanmar is situated on a significant fault line. While they are somewhat regular in Myanmar, earthquakes are uncommon in Bangkok. The nation is situated on the Sagaing Fault, a significant north-south fault that divides the Sunda and India plates. In an area where the majority of people reside in houses made of timber and unreinforced brick masonry, the earthquake generated severe ground shaking, according to Brian Baptie, a seismologist of the British Geological Survey.
