Thousands Flee Cracked Bangkok Buildings As Myanmar Death Toll Rises

Myanmar’s military leadership has declared a week of national mourning, as it says more than 1,700 people have died in the country following Friday’s powerful earthquake

The UN has made an urgent appeal for $8m (£6.2m), as aid groups warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, with hospitals damaged and overwhelmed

Myanmar’s military leaders are still carrying out air strikes against an armed resistance they have been fighting for four years, reports BBC’s Rebecca Henschke

In neighbouring Thailand, 19 people are known to have died, and today thousands have been evacuated from cracked buildings in Bangkok.

Rescue efforts continue for 75 construction workers trapped under the rubble of a collapsed high-rise building in the capital – the city’s governor says there’s still hope of finding survivors.

Hospitals in Myanmar, many of which have been damaged by the earthquake, are overwhelmed by the surge of casualties, Margaret Harris from the World Health Organisation (WHO) days.

At least three hospitals are completely out of service, while another 22 are “partially damaged and not really able to function”, she says.

And besides attending to the injured, aid workers also have to deal with what Harris describes as the “perfect conditions” for outbreaks of diseases like cholera.

Another challenge, she adds, is dealing with Myanmar’s ruling military junta, which has previously been accused of withholding international aid to certain regions.

“It has always been a struggle,” Harris says, “but again that is our work, to negotiate those things.

BBC