A week after catastrophic earthquake, focus turns to a growing
humanitarian crisis in Myanmar
[April 04, 2025]
By DAVID RISING
BANGKOK (AP) — Search teams in Myanmar recovered more bodies from the
ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake killed
more than 3,100 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent
humanitarian needs in a country already devastated by a continuing civil
war.
United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the
emergency relief coordinator, will visit the area on Friday in an effort
to spur action following the March 28 quake. Ahead of the visit, U.N.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international
community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the
scale of this crisis,” and he urged unimpeded access to reach those in
need.
“The earthquake has supercharged the suffering with the monsoon season
just around the corner,” he said.
Myanmar's military and several key armed resistance groups have all
declared ceasefires in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow
of humanitarian aid.
But the U.N.'s Human Rights Office on Friday accused the military of
continuing attacks, claiming there were more than 60 attacks after the
earthquake, including 16 since the military announced a temporary
ceasefire on Wednesday.
“I urge a halt to all military operations, and for the focus to be on
assisting those impacted by the quake, as well as ensuring unhindered
access to humanitarian organizations that are ready to support,” said
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said. “I hope this
terrible tragedy can be a turning point for the country towards an
inclusive political solution.”
Announcing its ceasefire, the military also said it would still take
“necessary” measures against resistance groups, if they use the
ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks, and the groups have said
they reserved the right to defend themselves.
Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected
government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil
war.
The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3
million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need
even before it hit, according to the United Nations.
Myanmar authorities said Thursday that 3,145 people had been killed in
the earthquake, with another 4,589 people injured and 221 missing, and
did not immediately update the figures on Friday.
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A person watches at site of an under construction high-rise building
that collapsed after an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday,
April, 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Britain, which had already given $13 million to purchase emergency
items like food, water and shelter, pledged an additional $6.5
million in funds to match an appeal from Myanmar's Disasters
Emergency Committee, according to the U.K. Embassy in Yangon.
The World Food Program said so far it has reached 24,000 survivors,
but was scaling up its efforts to assist 850,000 with food and cash
assistance for one month.
Many international search and rescue teams are now on the scene, and
eight medical crews from China, Thailand, Japan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia were operating in Naypyitaw,
according to Myanmar's military-run government. Another five teams
from India, Russia, Laos and Nepal and Singapore were helping in the
Mandalay region, while teams from Russia, Malaysia and the ASEAN
bloc of nations were assisting in the Sagaing region.
The Trump administration has pledged $2 million in emergency aid and
sent a three-person team to assess how best to respond given drastic
cuts to U.S. foreign assistance.
On Friday, five bodies were recovered from the rubble in the capital
Naypyitaw and the second-largest city of Mandalay, near the
epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake March 28, authorities
said. The last reported rescue came Wednesday, some 125 hours after
the quake struck, when a man was saved from the wreckage of a hotel
in Mandalay.
The quake also shook neighboring Thailand, bringing down a high-rise
under construction in Bangkok, where recovery work continued Friday.
Overall, 22 people have been found dead and 35 injured in Bangkok,
primarily from the construction site.
_____
Associated Press Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Jamey
Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.
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