Myanmar earthquake victims surpass 1,700 as fighting continues

By Lisa Zengarini

As rescue efforts get underway in Myanmar amid logistic difficulties, the official death toll from the devastating earthquakes of March 28 continues to rise.

Over  1,700 people confirmed dead on Sunday

As of Sunday night, 30 March, more than 1,700 people were confirmed dead but estimates say the death toll could exceed 10,000.

The tremor with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, wreaked havoc on infrastructure, with buildings, bridges, and roads collapsing.

The most affected areas including Mandalay and Sagaing, saw entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, leaving thousands homeless, injured, or trapped under debris.

Over 150 religious buildings — monasteries, pagodas, mosques, and churches — have been damaged or destroyed. Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay told Sir agency there is virtually no church or building in the Archdiocese that has not suffered significant damage.

Hundreds Muslims were killed in mosques as they celebrated  the last Friday of Ramadan and thousands of Buddhists were hit by pagodas and temples which the earthquake tore through, when the earthquake struck. Many Christians were also injured or killed as churches and chapels collapsed.

International assisistance

The earthquake is believed to be the most catastrophic natural disaster Myanmar has experienced in nearly two centuries and comes on top of four years of civil war between the ruling military junta that took over in 2021 and rebel groups fighting it .

The scale of the disaster has prompted the military government to make a rare plea for international assistance.  The United Nations has responded by allocating an initial US$5 million to enable emergency responses. The European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia said they would provide immediate multi-million-dollar packages as aid agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Caritas Internationalis, launched a centralized appeal.

Logistical challenges

Despite these efforts, logistical challenges remain immense. Many regions still lack access to basic necessities like clean water, electricity, and internet services. Concerns have also been raised about the condition of Myanmar’s UNESCO-listed temples in Bagan and the safety of the country's major oil and gas pipeline to China. Reports from these areas remain scarce, adding to uncertainty about the full extent of the damage.

Calls for an immediate ceasefire

Despite the gravity of the catastrophe, the military government has continued bomb parts of Myanmar even as the opposition National Unity Government (NUG). announced a unilateral partial ceasefire to aid rescue efforts announced,

Air attacks have been reported on Pauk township in the country’s northwest. Military forces also attacked Bhamo, in Kachin state, which borders China.

The UN has described the attacks as "completely outrageous and unacceptable" urging the junta to immediately stop all its  military operations.

Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar, has made a similar appeal in an interview  with Vatican News on 28 March. 

(Source: various news agencies)