Humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar: Severe tremendous life breaks!

Humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar: Severe tremendous life breaks!

Sagaing, Myanmar - in the Sagaing region, Myanmar, has caused a devastating earthquake to have massive destruction. According to estimates, about 80 percent of the houses have collapsed, and more than 120,000 buildings were destroyed. In addition to the living rooms, hospitals, schools and the electricity and mobile network are also badly damaged. In view of the beginning of the rainy season, the humanitarian situation is extremely critical with violent rainfall, since many municipalities have now been cut off from the outside world. Before the quake, over 19 million people, which corresponds to more than a third of the population, were dependent on humanitarian aid.

urgent measures are required to help the survivors. Thousands of people have neither a roof over their heads nor enough access to clean water, food and medical services. Aid organizations such as the Kleine Zeitung report that urgently needed accommodations are necessary to prevent epidemics such as cholera and grues. In this context, ORF and neighbor started a call for donations shortly after the quake to alleviate the emergency.

help on the way

Henry Braun, the state director of Welthungerhilfe in Myanmar, describes the devastating conditions in Sagaing. People bury with bare hands at temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius. The situation is tense because there is no corpse bags and the chance of recovering survivors is low. The Welthungerhilfe , together with local partners, has already started the distribution of food to the particularly affected families. In addition, clean drinking water, cash aids and temporary accommodations are to be provided in the coming days.

Many survivors had to sleep in the open air, and in Mandalay, women and children searched for refuge in a monastery. The water supply has collapsed, which leads to an increase in diarrhea and increases the risk of epidemics such as cholera. Hundreds of people have to take care of five latrines in the areas affected by the disaster where the hygienic conditions are catastrophic.

toxic ingredients of the crisis

The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar was also tightened by a military coup and the Covid 19 pandemic. According to the United Nations, around three million people currently need humanitarian aid, especially in large cities such as Yangon and Mandalay as well as in conflict regions in the southeast and west of the country. More than 220,000 people have been driven out of their houses since February 1st and now live under precarious conditions in self -made emergency accommodation or in the jungle without access to fundamental care services.

The Zeit reports that bureaucratic hurdles restrict the accessibility of the affected people and hinder the effective use of aid measures. The military repression means that thousands were killed or arrested, while health care through pandemic, with an officially registered number of 455,000 infections and 17,000 deaths, is also burdened. This depressing situation presents the aid organizations and the international community with immense challenges.

The regional aid measures are already underway, but the need for support in Myanmar remains enormous. Donations are available in need via neighboring to improve the dramatic humanitarian situation.