Latest news After the earthquake comes the rain: Desperation in Myanmar
Ten days after the severe 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, the death toll continues to rise inexorably. So far, 3,514 bodies have been found and 210 people are still missing, according to the ruling military junta. Most of the victims were found around the second largest city, Mandalay, where more than 2,100 inhabitants were killed. However, aid workers and eyewitnesses fear that the true death toll could be much higher.
07.04.2025, 09:44
SDA
Rain complicates relief efforts
In addition, heavy rain has been falling since the weekend, hampering the work of aid workers and making the situation even more dramatic for those affected. According to media reports, tents and temporary clinics set up by international teams have been destroyed by rain and strong winds. There was also a threat of flooding and landslides, wrote the newspaper "The Irrawaddy", citing local meteorologists. The rainy season is approaching in the former Burma.
According to the military leadership, there is no hope for the missing. Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said that the rescue operations had been completed and that the clean-up work would now begin. According to the news portal Myanmar Now, however, the emergency services are barely keeping up with the removal of the dead. The morgues are completely overcrowded. Mass cremations in the open are the order of the day.
Smell of decomposing corpses
Nevertheless, the smell of decomposing corpses is in the air almost everywhere in the disaster area, observers say. The stench makes it almost impossible to stay there. However, many people still do not dare to enter their homes due to numerous aftershocks and continue to sleep outside.
"Earthquakes don't affect everyone equally - they hit the poorest the hardest. They lack the means to survive and rebuild their lives," wrote UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, who is in the disaster area, on X.
The destruction is so enormous that the badly affected town of Sagaing, for example, is said to be 80 percent destroyed, as "The Irrawaddy" reported, citing eyewitnesses. Meanwhile, frequent internet outages continue to make it difficult to obtain reliable information. This is not easy in Myanmar anyway: the multi-ethnic state has been ruled by brutal generals since a coup in 2021 and has been mired in chaos and violence ever since.
