Aid rescue teams prayers pour into quake devastated Myanmar

Humanitarian aid, rescue teams and prayers have begun pouring into Myanmar, as the war-ravaged country comes to grips with the impact of a massive earthquake that likely claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The 7.7-magnitude quake hit north-west of the city of Sagaing at a shallow depth at around lunchtime on March 28.

A 6.4-magnitude aftershock hit the same area

Seismic waves were felt in Thailand, Vietnam, southern China, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

While the full extent of the catastrophe has yet to emerge, Myanmar’s junta leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, on March 28 asked for immediate international help.

That rare plea raises the prospect that damage and casualties may be on a large scale, with Myanmar’s medical system and infrastructure ravaged by four years of civil war.

Asean’s foreign ministers said in a joint statement on March 29 they would “work closely to coordinate humanitarian assistance, support and facilitate relief operations, and ensure timely and effective humanitarian response”.

Malaysia said it would send a team to Myanmar, consisting of one commander and 49 rescue personnel to support humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

President Prabowo Subianto wrote on X on March 28 that Indonesia stands ready to provide all necessary support for recovery efforts.

President Donald Trump said the US “will be helping”. “It’s terrible,” he told reporters. “It’s a real bad one... we’ve already spoken with the country.”

But the effects of his administration’s deep cuts in foreign assistance through the US Agency for International Development (USAid) and the State Department will likely be tested in any response to the first big natural disaster of his second term.

Ms Sarah Charles, a former senior USAid official who oversaw disaster-response teams and overall humanitarian work under the Biden administration, said the system was now “in shambles”, without the people