UN teams ramp up response to deadly quake in Myanmar and Thailand

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Amid reports of hundreds dead or missing following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake with its epicentre in central Myanmar, UN teams in the region are “responding fast”, said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher on Friday.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator tweeted that UN team

s are being “supported by expertise across our global network”.

News reports quoting sources in the Burmese city of Mandalay, close to the epicentre of the quake, indicate that hundreds have died. In neighbouring Thailand more than 80 construction workers are missing, according to the Thai deputy prime minister, with a search and rescue operation underway.

UN chief António Guterres sent condolences to all those in the region impacted and underlined that the UN system is mobilising as fast as possible in support. 

Mr. Fletcher, who heads aid coordination office, OCHA, made an intial allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund of $5 million to support life-saving assistance.

‘Significant damage’

The UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Myanmar told UN News in a statement that reports indicate “significant damage” has occurred in Mandalay state, as well as Nay Pyi Taw, Bago, Magway, Sagaing, Shan “and possibly other areas”.

” Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by this event…We are gathering information about the people impacted, infrastructure damage, and immediate humanitarian needs to guide a response and will share more updates as information becomes available.”

Sheela Matthew of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said the quake had hit Myanmar “at the worst possible time. With one in four in the country already facing acute food insecurity, Myanmar just can’t afford another disaster.”

She said WFP has stocks of ready-to-eat food available in warehouses “and we are ready to respond as needed.”

Speaking from Myanmar’s largest city of Yangon, Marie Manrique, Programme Coordinator for the Myanmar country team of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told journalists at the UN in Geneva that the quake had also been felt in China, Thailand, and India.

She said that beyond damage to buildings and infrastructure, there was concern over potential dam bursts. Electricity and communications have been cut off in parts of the country.

She said the Myanmar Red Cross Society had launched an emergency operation to help people in need and assess the situation.

Myanmar has been in the grip of an increasingly brutal civil war since a military coup more than four years ago. Around 20 million people – a third of the population are expected to need humanitarian assistance this year. Around 15 million are projected to face acute food insecurity during 2025.

Fighting between junta forces and opposition armed groups has displaced more than 3.5 million people within the country.

© UNICEF

People gather in front of collapsed buildings in the Mandalay region of central Myanmar, following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake.

Aid operation underway

Speaking for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Dr. Margaret Harris said relief efforts were underway in coordination with country offices in Myanmar and Thailand.

She said the agency had activated its logistics hub in Dubai to primarily provide trauma supplies and a health needs assessment is underway.

Babar Baloch, for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that the central and northwest parts of Myanmar had the highest number of internally displaced people (IDPs) due to the conflict.

Some 1.6 million IDPs out of the total 3.5 million live in these areas and the catastrophe will only exacerbate hardships, he told journalists.

More to come on this developing story…