Myanmar earthquake: Race to seek for survivors continues as UN warns medical provide scarcity is hampering rescue efforts
Welcome again to our dwell protection of the aftermath of the lethal Myanmar earthquake which has killed not less than 1,600 individuals and injured over 3,400 others, with not less than 139 extra lacking.
Rescue efforts are coming into their third day and makes an attempt to seek out survivors are intensifying after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the nation and neighbouring Thailand, the place not less than 17 individuals in Bangkok have died.
The preliminary quake struck close to the central Myanmar metropolis of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, adopted minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.
The tremors collapsed buildings, downed bridges and buckled roads, with mass destruction seen within the metropolis of greater than 1.7 million individuals, the nation’s second largest.
The UN has warned that rescue operations are severely hindered by the blocked roads and collapsed buildings, including {that a} lack of medical provides is making the response to the earthquake rather more troublesome than it might be in any other case.
Hospitals in elements of central and northwestern Myanmar, together with Mandalay and Sagaing, had been struggling to deal with the inflow of injured individuals, based on the UN workplace for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA).
“A extreme scarcity of medical provides is hampering response efforts, together with trauma kits, blood baggage, anaesthetics, assistive units, important medicines, and tents for well being staff,” OCHA mentioned in a press release on Saturday.
Marcoluigi Corsi, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for war-torn Myanmar, mentioned Myanmar had already been “reeling from an alarming humanitarian disaster, largely pushed by persistent battle and recurrent disasters”.
“At this vital time, the individuals of Myanmar urgently want the steadfast help of the worldwide group,” he added.
Key occasions
What brought on Myanmar and Thailand earthquake and the way huge was it?
Nicola Davis
Nicola Davis is the Guardian’s science correspondent
Earthquakes come up when large slabs of rock that make up the Earth’s crust, often called tectonic plates, transfer in opposition to one another. In response to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Myanmar quake occurred as the results of “strike slip faulting” between the India and Eurasia plates – that means that these two tectonic plates rubbed sideways in opposition to one another.
“The quake occurred on the Sagaing fault, which marks the tectonic plate boundary between the Indian plate to the west and the Eurasian plate to the east. The Indian plate is transferring north alongside the fault in comparison with the Eurasian plate,” mentioned Invoice McGuire, emeritus professor of geophysical and local weather hazards at College School London.
The USGS says the area has expertise a number of comparable giant strike slip earthquakes previously, with six occurring inside about 250km of the present earthquake since 1900 that had been magnitude 7 or higher.
“This can be a main quake by any normal, and its influence is made far worse by the truth that it was very shallow – solely about 10km down. If it had been 100km deep, the influence would have been a lot smaller, so depth in addition to dimension is vital,” mentioned McGuire.
5.1 magnitude earthquake hits close to Mandalay in Myanmar, US Geological Survey says
America Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting {that a} 5.1 magnitude aftershock has hit 28km (17.4 miles) northwest of Mandalay, within the Mattara township, the newest in a string of aftershocks following Friday’s devastating earthquake.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit round Friday afternoon with an epicentre close to Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest metropolis, destroying many buildings and damaging different infrastructure like town’s airport.
A lot of Mandalay’s 1.5 million individuals have spent the final two nights sleeping on the streets, both left homeless by the earthquake or anxious that the persevering with aftershocks would possibly trigger buildings left unstable to break down.
Folks screamed within the streets on Sunday when a 5.1 magnitude aftershock hit at 15:38 native time (09:08 GMT), however there have been no instant experiences of additional harm, based on the Related Press.
Emergency staff seek for individuals trapped underneath web site of collapsed Bangkok constructing
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar, with tremors felt in Thailand, China and India.
In neighbouring Thailand, the earthquake affected the higher Bangkok space, dwelling to round 17 million individuals, and different elements of the nation.
Many locations within the north reported harm, however the one casualties had been reported in Bangkok, which is positioned over 1,000km (621 miles) from the epicentre of Friday’s earthquake.
Rescuers within the Thai capital are persevering with to work to rescue survivors trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper underneath development close to the well-known Chatuchak market collapsed after Friday’s earthquake. At the least 12 individuals have been confirmed useless on the web site of the collapsed high-rise constructing and dozens of others reported injured.
Employees on the web site of the under-construction state audit workplace’s constructing are utilizing giant mechanical diggers in an try to seek out victims nonetheless trapped underneath the particles.
“We’re nonetheless attempting to get underneath the rubble as a result of the 30 flooring of the constructing piling up is absolutely troublesome to get by means of,” Thawida Kamolvej, Bangkok’s deputy governor, instructed BBC Information .
“We nonetheless have 79 lacking. I’m nonetheless assured in my group. We’re going to proceed working across the clock, we have now extra individuals coming in. I’ve to seek out them,” she added.
Myanmar earthquake: Race to seek for survivors continues as UN warns medical provide scarcity is hampering rescue efforts
Welcome again to our dwell protection of the aftermath of the lethal Myanmar earthquake which has killed not less than 1,600 individuals and injured over 3,400 others, with not less than 139 extra lacking.
Rescue efforts are coming into their third day and makes an attempt to seek out survivors are intensifying after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the nation and neighbouring Thailand, the place not less than 17 individuals in Bangkok have died.
The preliminary quake struck close to the central Myanmar metropolis of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, adopted minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.
The tremors collapsed buildings, downed bridges and buckled roads, with mass destruction seen within the metropolis of greater than 1.7 million individuals, the nation’s second largest.
The UN has warned that rescue operations are severely hindered by the blocked roads and collapsed buildings, including {that a} lack of medical provides is making the response to the earthquake rather more troublesome than it might be in any other case.
Hospitals in elements of central and northwestern Myanmar, together with Mandalay and Sagaing, had been struggling to deal with the inflow of injured individuals, based on the UN workplace for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA).
“A extreme scarcity of medical provides is hampering response efforts, together with trauma kits, blood baggage, anaesthetics, assistive units, important medicines, and tents for well being staff,” OCHA mentioned in a press release on Saturday.
Marcoluigi Corsi, UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for war-torn Myanmar, mentioned Myanmar had already been “reeling from an alarming humanitarian disaster, largely pushed by persistent battle and recurrent disasters”.
“At this vital time, the individuals of Myanmar urgently want the steadfast help of the worldwide group,” he added.
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