Death toll from Myanmar quake surpasses 3,000

KABUL (Pajhwok): The death toll from Myanmar’s earthquake has surpassed 3,000, with global aid agencies warning that the extreme heat and heavy rain could cause disease outbreaks among survivors.

Last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted a region home to 28 million, toppling buildings such as hospitals, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.

Reuters reported that deaths rose to 3,085 on Thursday, with 4,715 injured and 341 missing.

The World Health Organisation flagged a rising risk of cholera and other diseases in the worst-affected areas, such as Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital of Naypyitaw, while it prepared $1 million of relief supplies, including body bags.

“Cholera remains a particular concern for all of us,” said Elena Vuolo, the deputy head of its Myanmar office, pointing to an outbreak last year in Mandalay.

The risk was worsened by damage to about half of healthcare facilities in the quake-hit areas, including hospitals destroyed in Mandalay and Naypyitaw, she added.

People were camping outdoors in temperatures of 38°C (100°F) because they were too scared to go home, and many hospitals were also setting up temporary facilities there, Vuolo told Reuters from Naypyitaw.

Skin disease, malaria and dengue were among the ailments that could result from prolonged crises, such as in Myanmar, she said.

But conditions could get even tougher for the huge relief effort, after weather officials warned that unseasonal rain from Sunday to April 11 could threaten the areas hardest-hit by the quake.

sa/mud