World Health Organization issues flash appeal for $8m in humanitarian aid for Myanmar
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent flash appeal for $8m (£6.1m / €7.4m) for emergency support in Myanmar, after the devastating earthquake, which has killed at least 1,700 people according to official figures.
In a statement the organisation said:
Two powerful earthquakes have devastated central Myanmar, disrupting health services and putting thousands at risk of life-threatening injuries and disease outbreaks. WHO is responding at its highest level of emergency activation – deploying nearly three tonnes of emergency medical supplies within 24 hours and coordinating global emergency medical teams. WHO urgently needs $8m to deliver life-saving trauma care, prevent disease outbreaks, and restore essential health services over the next 30 days.
Key events
Official death toll at over 1,700 as 60 mosques reported destroyed or damaged
A Myanmar Muslim organization says more than 700 worshipers were killed when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country at Friday prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan. The country’s military-led government has put the death toll so far at 1,7000, Associated Press reports.
The news agency states that it is not clear at this moment whether the 700 worshippers, reported dead by the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network, are included in the government figures given by government spokesperson Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun on state television.
The government has put the number injured at 3,400, and said that more than 300 people are still missing. In a rare moment of hope a woman trapped beneath the remains of a hotel building for nearly 60 hours was pulled out alive on Monday.
World Health Organization issues flash appeal for $8m in humanitarian aid for Myanmar
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an urgent flash appeal for $8m (£6.1m / €7.4m) for emergency support in Myanmar, after the devastating earthquake, which has killed at least 1,700 people according to official figures.
In a statement the organisation said:
Two powerful earthquakes have devastated central Myanmar, disrupting health services and putting thousands at risk of life-threatening injuries and disease outbreaks. WHO is responding at its highest level of emergency activation – deploying nearly three tonnes of emergency medical supplies within 24 hours and coordinating global emergency medical teams. WHO urgently needs $8m to deliver life-saving trauma care, prevent disease outbreaks, and restore essential health services over the next 30 days.
Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to the Guardian’s ongoing live coverage of the humanitarian impact of the last week’s earthquake in Myanmar. Here are the headlines …
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The death toll from the 7.7-magnitude quake that struck on Friday has surpassed 1,700 and flattened huge swathes of the South-east Asian nation, according to officials
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A Myanmar Muslim organization says more than 700 worshipers were killed as the earthquake occurred durign Friday prayers. About 60 mosques were reported damaged or destroyed. Associated Press reports it is unclear if the figure of 700, given by the Spring Revolution Myanmar Muslim Network, is in addition to the official toll
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a flash appeal for $8m (£6.1m / €7.4m) for emergency support in Myanmar
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The US Geological Survey’s predictive modelling estimates Myanmar’s death toll could eventually top 10,000 and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output
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Red Cross officials said Myanmar was facing “a level of devastation that hasn’t been seen over a century in Asia”
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In neighbouring Thailand, at least 18 people have been killed and rescue efforts are continuing at the site of a collapsed 30-storey tower in Bangkok. Rescuers are scrambling to find 78 people still missing
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Rescuers freed a woman from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar’s Mandalay, officials said on Monday, offering a glimmer of hope that more survivors may be found