Myanmar earthquake: More than 3,000 people killed, rain forecast makes rescue difficult
The death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has passed 3,000, with hundreds still missing. Meanwhile, forecasts of unseasonable rains pose a new challenge for rescue and aid workers trying to reach those affected in the country.
Last week's 7.7-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the Southeast Asian nation in a century, rocked a region of 28 million people, collapsing buildings, flattening entire communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.
The death toll rose to 3,003 on April 2, with 4,515 injured and 351 missing, according to a statement from the Myanmar embassy in Japan on Facebook, as rescue workers struggled to find more survivors.
However, the situation could become even more difficult for relief efforts as officials forecast that unseasonal rains from April 6 to April 11 could threaten areas worst affected by the earthquake, such as Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital Naypyidaw.
"It's going to rain and there are still a lot of people buried," a relief worker in Myanmar told Reuters news agency. "And especially in Mandalay, if it starts raining, those buried could suffocate even if they survive so far."
There have been 53 relief flights to Myanmar, the Myanmar embassy in Japan said in its post, while more than 1,900 rescue workers have arrived from 15 countries, including Southeast Asian neighbors and nations such as China, India and Russia.
Meanwhile, nearly a week after the earthquake, search and rescue teams in Thailand are also searching for survivors in the rubble after a skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok collapsed. Rescue workers are using excavators and bulldozers to break up 100 tons of concrete in the search for any survivors after the disaster that claimed 15 lives, while 72 are still missing. The total number of people killed in Thailand now stands at 22.
