Tragedy in Myanmar

It has been nearly 24 hours since a powerful earthquake struck central Myanmar, with its effects felt as far as neighboring Thailand. The death toll has risen to 1,644, the country's military leadership said, while the number of injured has gone up to 3,408, with 139 missing.  Much of the fatalities are centered in its second-largest city of Mandalay, which is close to the quake's epicenter.  All of the images of Mandalay's destruction below were emailed out of the country, as Myanmar's largest telecom companies remain down.   Rescue operations are ongoing, with one rescue team in Mandalay saying they were "digging people out with our bare hands"  In Thailand, all eyes are on an unfinished skyscraper which was destroyed by the earthquake (some 100 workers remain unaccounted for, and six people are known to have died).  Power remains out in Mandalay, complicating rescue efforts and making reporting on the situation difficult. Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi has not been affected by the earthquakes and remains in jail in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, according to a source close to prison authorities. Myanmar's military regime says it has opened a temporary hospital and relief camp at Mandalay Airport. The airport is not currently functional, with the runways damaged during the earthquake, but the military says it is working to resume flights. Myanmar's military leaders have issued a rare appeal for international aid, with its neighbors China and India among the first to send help.

At approximately 2:30 am early Friday morning, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar in the Sagaing region, with an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.  It was the most powerful earthquake to strike Myanmar since 1912.  Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta since a coup in 2021, making access to information difficult. The state controls almost all of local radio, television, print and online media.  Internet use is also restricted.  The Yangon-Mandalay highway was also damaged in many areas, including the bridges, with some vehicles stranded on the road.

Just 12 minutes after the first earthquake hit, another one struck, according to the US Geological Survey.  The second was a magnitude of 6.4.  The Red Cross reported that its teams launched a response to "significant damage" in Myanmar - but faced challenges due to a lack of power in the affected areas.  Even before this devastating earthquake hit, the humanitarian situation in Myanmar was dire.  The Sagaing region, near the epicenter of the quake, is a volatile key battleground in the civil war.  It’s a stronghold of pro-democracy resistance groups who are fighting to overthrow the military government that seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021. The civil war has left more than an estimated 3.5 million people displaced from their homes. And hunger has reached alarming levels. Before the quake, the United Nations was warning that nearly 20 million people - a third of the population - would need aid this year. Now the situation has got a whole lot worse.

According to Joe Freeman, a Myanmar researcher for Amnesty International, Myanmar’s military has a "well-documented history of denying aid to areas where groups who resist are active" - and calls for the military to "allow unimpeded humanitarian access" to areas that are affected, prioritizing "the needs of civilians".

There are reports of heavily damaged parts of the Mandalay Palace. The complex was built in the 1850s by Myanmar's royal family and was refurbished in the 1990s.  It is also reported that the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda (a 40 minute drive south-east of Mandalay)  collapsed.  Footage showed residents screaming as a tower snapped and fell away from the ancient temple, which is said to be over 1,000 years old.  Meanwhile, other social media clips showed fires engulfing Mandalay University. 

After a three-hour country-wide power outage, power was restored in Yangon and (according to BBC reports) there doesn't appear to be any major damage other than "minor cracks" (the junta later announced that Yangon would be limited to four hours of electricity per day for the time being).   According to a rescuer, there is even worst damage in the small villages outside Mandalay. “The situation there is even worse than in Mandalay, with more than 100 people dead in the village of Bone Oe alone,” he says.  He’s also seen collapsed buildings in Amarapura and Tada-U.  “People there need medical teams, small earthquakes are still happening, everyone is on the field and the roads as they are afraid of the aftershocks,” he added.

A rescue worker in Mandalay told the BBC Burmese Service that "most of the buildings have collapsed" in Myanmar's second-largest city.   "The view of Mandalay as we began our rescue was horrific," the rescuer says, describing how people were running in the streets, screaming and crying.  "We had to rescue people trapped in the rubble. Mandalay General Hospital is almost full", with many patients suffering heart attacks. The rescuer - who didn't want to be identified for security reasons - says the hospital itself was damaged by the earthquake. As night fell, "people don't dare go back into their homes. They are so afraid. Some were sitting on the street... unable to sleep.  "They are terrified after their families, friends, and relatives disappeared before their eyes."

In the meantime, the military council of Myanmar has continued airstrikes and drone attacks against its opponents, including one in the Sagaing region which has seen extensive damage and casualties from the quake.  According to the Chaung U Township People's Defense Force, around 19:40 local time, Nwe Khway village in the Chaung U township, Sagaing, was bombed twice.  The other two strikes were at Ley Wah, in Kayin state, near the Karen National Union headquarters, and at Pyu in the Bago Region.