Survivors of Myanmar quake left without food water and shelter aid groups say

BANGKOK – Aid groups in Myanmar on April 1 described scenes of devastation and desperation after an earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, stressing an urgent need for food, water and shelter and warning the window to find survivors was fast closing.

Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing in a televised address said the death toll from the 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 was expected to surpass 3,000, having reached 2,719 on April 1, with 4,521 people injured, and 441 missing.

The quake, which hit around lunchtime on March 28, was the strongest to hit the South-east Asian country in more than a century, toppling ancient pagodas and modern buildings alike. It inflicted significant damage on Myanmar’s second city Mandalay and Naypyitaw, the capital the previous junta purpose-built to be an impregnable fortress.

The death toll rose to 21 in neighbouring Thailand, where the quake caused damage to hundreds of buildings. Rescuers pressed on searching for life in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper in the capital Bangkok, but acknowledged time was against them.

In Myanmar, UN agencies said hospitals were overwhelmed and rescue efforts hindered by infrastructure damage and the country’s civil war. Rebels accused the military of conducting airstrikes even after the quake and on April 1 a rebel alliance declared a unilateral ceasefire to help relief efforts.

Aid groups raised the alarm over a lack of food, water and sanitation. The region was still being hit by aftershocks on April 1.

Julia Rees, of the UN children’s agency Unicef, who just returned from one of the worst-affected areas near the epicentre in central Myanmar, said entire communities had been flattened and destruction and psychological trauma was immense.

“And yet, this crisis is still unfolding. The tremors are continuing. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Bodies