Residents in Myanmar’s quake-hit regions braced for more thunderstorms late Sunday, as heavy rain and strong winds the previous night hampered rescue efforts and deepened the hardship for those left homeless and sleeping outdoors.
State-run MRTV warned that scattered showers and thunderstorms are likely across the country throughout the week.
“The public is urged to remain alert for sudden downpours, strong winds, lightning, hail and potential landslides,” the broadcaster said. Daytime temperatures could soar to 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) by midweek.
The epicenter of the 7.7-magnitude quake on March 28 was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city. It struck a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw.
Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, a spokesperson for the military government, said Sunday in an audio message to journalists that 3,564 people had been confirmed dead so far, with 5,012 others injured and 210 missing.
The quake left many areas without power, telephone or cellular connections, and damaged roads and bridges, hindering damage assessments.
An official from the Myanmar Rescue Federation in Mandalay told The Associated Press (AP) on Sunday that rescuers had to temporarily shut down electrical equipment and machinery used in search operations due to rain on Saturday and Sunday, making the work more difficult but not halting it.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest by the military for speaking without authorization, said rescuers would continue search operations despite the possibility of more rain.
Another rescuer working in Mandalay, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the rain and strong winds caused some buildings to collapse, compounding the hardship for those seeking shelter.
The Irrawaddy, an online Myanmar news site operating in exile, reported that at least 80 bodies were found in the wreckage of the Great Wall Hotel in Mandalay after the removal of walls and rubble on Sunday afternoon. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
The Myanmar Fire Services Department said in a statement Sunday that rescuers recovered five bodies from collapsed buildings in Mandalay.
Myanmar has had a military government since February 2021, when the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. It tolerates no criticism and is engaged in a civil war against pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic minority guerrilla armies.
The military government said 5,223 buildings, 1,824 schools, 2,752 Buddhist monastic residences, 4,817 pagodas and temples, 167 hospitals and clinics, 169 bridges, 198 dams and 184 sections of the country’s main highway were damaged by the earthquake.
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