BREAKING: Myanmar Earthquake Death Toll Rises To 1,700
The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck central Myanmar has climbed to 1,700, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
The disaster has made relief efforts “extremely difficult,” according to aid agencies.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar on Friday afternoon, followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock just minutes later.
Witness accounts and social media footage reveal extensive damage in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, where buildings, religious sites, and main roads have been heavily impacted or destroyed.
According to the BBC, Myanmar’s military junta leader, Min Aung Hlaing, informed Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, that the disaster has left about 3,400 people injured and nearly 300 still missing. He warned that the death toll could continue to rise.
In response, the junta has declared a state of emergency in the six worst-affected regions and issued a rare appeal for international assistance, signalling deep concerns over the devastation. Rescue efforts remain underway, with emergency teams racing against time to locate survivors.
The international community has stepped up relief efforts. The UK on Sunday announced a £10m aid package to support emergency humanitarian assistance.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who announced this in a post on X, described the situation as “devastating.”
Several countries, including Malaysia, Russia, and China, have dispatched rescue teams and relief supplies.
Thailand has deployed drones with thermal imaging to search for survivors, while India, France, and the European Union have pledged additional assistance.
Also, the United Nations allocated $5m to relief operations, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) is mobilising medical supplies.
As aid continues, the World Food Program (WFP) said reaching out to the affected persons remains a very difficult task.
The WFP’s country director, Michael Dunford, said it could be “days and weeks” before the true scale of the damage in Myanmar, which has been gripped by conflict since a military coup in 2021, is known.
“This was a highly complex, extremely difficult operating theatre before the conflict. This catastrophe—and it really is a catastrophe—is simply going to make it more so. Already a third of the population requires humanitarian assistance; that number is inevitably going to rise,” Dunford stated.
The quake was the strongest to hit Myanmar in over a century. Its tremors reached as far as Bangkok, where over 2,000 reports of damage prompted inspections by city engineers. Buildings in the Thai capital shook, with rooftop pools spilling water down high-rise facades. Hospitals, hotels, and residential buildings were evacuated as a precaution.
Meanwhile, in Myanmar, rescue teams from China and Russia were among the first to arrive. A 37-member team from China’s Yunnan province landed in Yangon with earthquake detectors, drones, and emergency supplies. Russia sent two planes carrying 120 rescuers and humanitarian aid.
Myanmar’s already strained healthcare system is struggling to cope with the crisis. Hospitals in the heavily affected Sagaing and Mandalay regions are overwhelmed with patients, leading the military regime to call for blood donors. Medical teams are stretched thin, and aid workers fear the number of injured could be much higher than reported.
With vast destruction and limited resources, the full scale of the earthquake’s impact may not be known for weeks. Rescue workers continue their efforts under difficult conditions, hoping to find more survivors amid the ruins of Myanmar’s worst earthquake in a century.
