Devastation in Myanmar: 694 dead, hospitals overwhelmed as UN pledges $5M in aid

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake has resulted in immense destruction in Myanmar, Thailand. Several skyscrapers have toppled, while millions of people have lost their homes. Rescue teams are continuously involved in rescue work.

Disaster Strikes Myanmar

 Meanwhile, a Myanmar military commander has reported that a minimum of 700 individuals have lost their lives in the earthquake. Simultaneously, an American agency has cautioned that the number of fatalities may cross 10,000. Meanwhile, earthquake tremors were experienced in Myanmar, Thailand and Afghanistan on Saturday. The earthquake was 4.7 on the Richter scale

Earthquake tremors were also felt here

The earthquake was so intense that its effects reached as far away as Bangkok, 900 kilometers away, knocking down numerous old buildings and bridges. Tremors were experienced in sections of India, such as Meghalaya and Manipur, and also in Bangladesh, particularly Dhaka and Chittagong, and China.While this is happening, India has dispatched 15 tonnes of relief supplies to Myanmar, including basic items such as tents, sleeping bags, blankets, ready-to-eat food, water purifiers, hygiene kits, solar lamps and generator sets. An Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft departed from Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad for Myanmar at approximately 4 am on Saturday morning.

What is in the relief materials?

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted that the plane has vital supplies such as tents, sleeping bags, blankets, ready-to-eat food, water purification units, hygiene kits, solar lights and generator sets. A search and rescue team with vital medicines and medical supplies such as paracetamol, antibiotics, cannulas, syringes, gloves, cotton bandages, urine bags etc is also on board, the Union minister added. Epicentre of the earthquake was in Myanmar's central city of Mandalay, north of the capital Naypyitaw, as strong tremors shook Thailand, with three killed when a 30-storey building under construction collapsed in Bangkok.

Rescue operations continue in Myanmar, Thailand

Search and rescue operations were going on in the two nations as the rescuers scoured through the rubble looking for survivors. As per the report, the lines of communication and electricity had been severed in the two major cities of Myanmar, Mandalay and Yangon, hindering rescue efforts. Up to 100 individuals were reported missing after a building being constructed collapsed in Thailand. In Bangkok, at least two buildings were evacuated last night and volunteers will survey 2,000 more buildings for damage tomorrow