Global community responds to deadly earthquake in Myanmar

By Jacinth Banite

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28 with a tremor so powerful that it caused extensive damage in neighbouring Thailand.

The epicentre of the shock was located in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city situated around 600 miles from Thai capital Bangkok.

As of Monday, Saturday’s quake had claimed over 1,700 lives in Myanmar and at least 17 in Thailand, with the death toll expected to rise as high as 10,000, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit Southeast Asia in the last 100 years.

With rescuers racing to find survivors under the rubble of collapsed buildings and highways, the rest of the world is doing what it can to help a country already torn apart by a post-coup civil war.

Aid operations underway

After news of the quake broke, several global powers were quick to initiate aid operations, with United Nations agencies taking the lead.

In a press release on Friday, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Tom Fletcher was quoted as saying that the Southeast Asian chapter of the organisation “is responding fast” to provide for Myanmar’s immediate needs.

“Mr. Fletcher… made an initial allocation from the Central Emergency Response Fund of $5 million to support life-saving assistance,” the statement reads.

Meanwhile, a representative of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Sheela Matthew, promised support for quake-hit areas in Thailand and Myanmar.

According to the release, “She said WFP has stocks of ready-to-eat food available in warehouses ‘and we are ready to respond as needed’.”

Dr. Margaret Harris of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva added that “relief efforts were underway in coordination with country offices in Myanmar and Thailand”.

READ MORE: Decoding Asia’s Economic Resilience: A Boao Forum Analysis

Help from neighbours, allies

Apart from UN agencies, neighbouring and allied governments of Myanmar and Thailand have also shown support following the catastrophic earthquake.

China, a prominent supporter of Myanmar’s military regime following the 2021 coup, deployed an 82-person team on Saturday to expedite rescue missions in the devastated country, Beijing’s emergency management ministry has announced.

In addition, the Chinese government has promised ¥100 million ($13.8 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, with shipments to begin on Monday, its international aid agency said.

The Hong Kong government further dispatched a 51-person team to Myanmar on Saturday, along with two search-and-rescue dogs and nine tonnes of equipment, including life detectors, Agence France-Presse has learned. 

India, which shares a 1,643 kilometre–long border with Myanmar, on Saturday sent a C-130 military transport plane carrying hygiene kits, blankets, food parcels, and other essentials.

“A search and rescue team and medical team is also accompanying this flight,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told AFP.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar and Thailand are members, also pledged support to both nations in the aftermath of the disaster. 

“ASEAN re-affirms its solidarity with the families and communities affected by the earthquake and its impact,” read a joint statement by ASEAN foreign ministers on Saturday.

The bloc’s member states – including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines – said they will send their own teams of rescuers to Myanmar, along with necessary humanitarian assistance.

Another powerful regional bloc, the European Union, has pledged €2.5 million ($2.7 million) in initial emergency aid. It said an assessment of needs on the ground is underway in order to mobilise further assistance.

The United Kingdom, which has imposed a number of sanctions on Myanmar’s military government amid its reported atrocities against civilians, has also joined the global effort, pledging £10 million ($12.9 million) in humanitarian aid for Myanmar on Saturday.

So too is the United States, whose recent international aid cutting has gravely affected Myanmar refugees.

“It’s a real bad one, and we will be helping. We’ve already spoken with the country,” President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Pakistan calls for digital expansion of welfare programs

A rare plea from Myanmar military leader

The flood of international assistance for Myanmar comes as Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the man who led the seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, addressed the world on Friday and asked for help in a rare move by the military leader, who is often credited for his tough stances against the international community.

In a speech that aired on Myanmar state media on Friday, Aung Hlaing invited “any country, any organisation” to help with relief efforts in the quake-hit country. 

Spokesperson of the military government, Zaw Min Tun, doubled down on the plea while accompanying Aung Hlaing during a visit to a local hospital on the same day. 

“We want the international community to give humanitarian aid as soon as possible,” he told AFP at the site.

The military government had earlier declared a state of emergency in six of the worst-affected areas across Myanmar, namely Mandalay, Sagaing, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw, and Bago.

Thai authorities made a similar declaration in Bangkok.

READ NEXT: Singapore tackles climate change while other nations delay