Heavy rain hit parts of Myanmar, where the earthquake hit, complicating relief efforts and increased the risk of illness as the death toll from the powerful tremors that hit the country on March 28 rose to at least 3,471.
Aid workers in Mandalay City, near the earthquake’s epicenter, said Sunday that rain and wind hit tent camps overnight and morning in the area, immersing survivors and their belongings.
There was more rain later that day, but temperatures were projected to rise to 37 degrees Celsius (98 degrees Fahrenheit).
“The weather is very extreme,” Tun Tun, an expert on the UN development programme, told AFP News Agency.
Aid agencies warn that the combination of out-of-season rain and extreme heat can lead to an outbreak of diseases, including cholera.
Rainfall will appear on April 6th
It rained around 6am on April 6th. On the evening of April 5th, unseasonably rained in the towns of Sagar, Mandalay and Kyoks, making casualties on the road even more difficult. pic.twitter.com/0erqyjwjih
– Eleven Myanmar (@elevenmyanmar) April 6, 2025
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck a wide strip of Myanmar, home to 50 million people, causing major damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Napidau.
It left many areas without power, phone or cell phone connections, and damaged roads and bridges, making it difficult to assess the full extent of devastation. It also exacerbated the already tragic humanitarian crisis caused by the country’s civil war that internally displaced more than three million people and plagued nearly 20 million people, according to the United Nations.
State media, a military-led country, now says the earthquake has caused 3,471 deaths, 4,671 injuries and 214 missing.
It damaged approximately 5,223 buildings, 1,824 schools, 4,817 pagodas and temples, 167 hospitals and clinics, 169 bridges, 198 dams and 184 major highways in the country.
“It’s traumatic and scary”
The damage in Sagar city near the epicenter and Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, is particularly severe.
United Nations-aid chief Tom Fletcher in Mandalay described the scale of the damage as an “epic,” saying that survivors “traumatized and terrifying” urgently needed food, water, shelter and electricity.
In a video posted to X, Fletcher said that trembling caused devastation to a community that was already in danger. “It’s a compound interest crisis,” he said. “In addition to conflict, there’s also the big existing needs, earthquakes.”
He said aftershocks continued in the area more than a week after the earthquake. The US Geological Survey said a 2.7 earthquake occurred south of Mandalay late Friday.
This is a traumatized and terrifying community due to the severe damage and aftershocks a week after the Mandalay earthquake. We are determined to save the survivors and help them rebuild. We need the world to share that commitment. pic.twitter.com/jdsfvgvmdd
– Tom Fletcher (@unreliefchief) April 6, 2025
Myanmar’s military government, led by General Min Aung Fröning, who took power in a February 2021 coup, took power in a coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government on Wednesday, but the office of the UN Human Rights Office said Friday that the military had not curbed support in the area.
The UN agency also said it is investigating reports of military attacks on opponents, including after the ceasefire.
Relief group Freebur Malrangers told Reuters on Saturday that the military dropped Kareni and Shan’s bombs on Thursday and Friday, killing at least five people despite an announcement of a ceasefire.
The victims included civilians, according to David Eubank, the group’s founder.
There were no immediate comments from the military regarding the allegations.
US aid team fired
Myanmar’s neighbours, including China, India and Southeast Asian countries, have sent relief supplies and rescuers to the country over the past week, but until recently, the US, a global humanitarian provider, has pledged at least $9 million to support communities affected by the earthquake.
Current and former US officials say the dismantling of the country’s foreign aid program has affected its response.
Three agencies of international development workers who traveled to Myanmar after Quake was told they had been let go, former USAID official Marcia Wong told Reuters.
“This team is working incredibly hard and focuses on getting humanitarian assistance to those in need. Why doesn’t it lose morale to get news of your imminent layoff?” Wong said.
The three USAID workers were sleeping on the streets of the earthquake zone, Wong added that their termination will take effect in a few months.
Meanwhile, in nearby Thailand, authorities said the country’s death toll from the earthquake has risen to 24. Of these, 17 people died in a location in an underconstructed skyscraper in Bangkok’s capital. There are no other 77 yet.
