Aftermath of Myanmar quake | As survivors struggled to cope  with the disaster, military jets launched airstrikes & drone attacks took place in Karen state

Agencies BANGKOK

In the hours after a massive earthquake flattened buildings in Myanmar's Mandalay on Friday, survivors clawed through the debris using their bare hands in desperate attempts to save those still trapped.

Without heavy machinery to assist them and with authorities absent, a resident and rescue workers in the Southeast Asian country's second-largest city told Reuters that they were struggling to pull out survivors crying out for help.

Htet Min Oo, 25, barely survived when a brick wall collapsed on him, trapping half of his body. He told Reuters that his grandmother and two uncles remained under the debris of a building, which he tried in vain to clear with his hands. "There’s too much rubble, and no rescue teams have come for us," he said, breaking into tears.

The earthquake has compounded Myanmar's existing crisis, stemming from the 2021 military coup and ongoing civil war. Highlighting the nation's vulnerability, Sheela Matthew of the World Food Programme, said,"Myanmar just can't afford another disaster.” He  pointed to the country's crippled infrastructure and millions already displaced by civil war.

Mohammed Riyas of the International Rescue Committee emphasized the strain on already decimated health systems,  “decimated by conflict and overwhelmed by outbreaks of cholera and other diseases".

The foreign minister of the National Unity Government, the parallel civilian government that oversees some pro-democracy forces, told Reuters by phone it would deploy anti-junta troops to help with disaster efforts.  

Polycrisis

The UN previously labeled Myanmar's situation a "polycrisis," marked by economic collapse, conflict, climate hazards, and poverty. Over half the population lacks electricity, and hospitals are non-functional in conflict zones. More than 3.5 million are internally displaced, with many fleeing across borders amid fighting between the military and a mosaic of armed groups that have seized control of vast swathes of territory.

Fighting continued on Friday, with military jets launching airstrikes and drone attacks shortly after the quake in Karen state, according  to the   Free Burma Rangers, a relief organisation.

Lack of young  men

Nyi Nyi Kyaw, a Myanmar academic at Bristol University, wrote in a social media post that the loss of a "significant portion of (the country's) youth, particularly young men, due to forced conscription" into the military would hinder the disaster response. "There is no properly functioning government in the most severely affected regions," he stated. A rescue worker in Amarapura, Mandalay, struggling to free 140 trapped monks, said, "We cannot help because we do not have enough manpower and machines," but vowed to continue.

Weaponising aid

The junta has issued a rare appeal for international aid, with teams from Russia, China, Singapore, and India arriving on Saturday. However, concerns arise about aid distribution, given the regime's history of blocking relief to opposition-held areas. Thomas Andrews, the UN special rapporteur, warned of the military's "willingness to weaponize aid" as witnessed during the  situation arising  from  cyclone and typhoon recently.