[🇧🇩] Earthquake in Myanmar----Lessons for Bangladesh

[Saif]

Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire, survivors plead for aid

Myanmar’s junta announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday as the death toll from a devastating earthquake rose and desperate survivors pleaded for more help amid frantic scenes of aid distribution...

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Myanmar junta declares quake ceasefire, survivors plead for aid
Agence France-Presse . Sagaing, Myanmar 02 April, 2025, 23:46

Workers wearing hazmat suit spray disinfectant to sterilise the rubble of a collapsed building in Mandalay on Wednesday, five days after a major earthquake struck central Myanmar. | AFP photo

Myanmar’s junta announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday as the death toll from a devastating earthquake rose and desperate survivors pleaded for more help amid frantic scenes of aid distribution.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing nearly 3,000 people and making thousands more homeless.

The military government said it would observe a ceasefire from Wednesday until April 22 to make quake relief efforts easier, after other armed groups fighting the country’s bloody four-year civil war made similar pledges.

The junta said in a statement the move had ‘the aim of speeding up relief and reconstruction efforts, and maintaining peace and stability’.

But it warned its opponents — a complex array of pro-democracy and ethnic minority armed groups — it would still respond to attacks, acts of sabotage or ‘gathering, organising, and expanding territory that would undermine peace’.

UN agencies, rights groups and foreign governments had earlier urged all sides in Myanmar’s civil war to stop fighting and focus on helping those affected by the quake, the biggest to hit the country in decades.

The junta said Min Aung Hlaing will travel to Bangkok on Thursday for a summit of South Asian countries plus Myanmar and Thailand, where he will discuss the quake response.

AFP journalists saw frantic scenes as hundreds of desperate people scrambled for aid distribution in Sagaing, the city closest to the epicentre of the quake, with some running through traffic to join the queues.

Volunteers handed out water, rice, cooking oil and other basic supplies to residents clamouring for assistance.

‘I have never queued for food like this before. I can’t express how worried I am. I don’t know what to say,’ Cho Cho Mar, 35, carrying her baby and clutching instant coffee packs and mosquito repellent, said.

Destruction in the city is widespread, with the World Health Organisation reporting that one in three houses have collapsed, and five days after the quake locals complained of a lack of help.

Aye Thi Kar, 63, head of a school for young nuns razed to the ground by the tremors, said food supplies were low but shelter was a bigger priority — along with nets to ward off mosquitos in the stifling tropical heat.

Many people have been sleeping in the streets since the quake hit, unable to return to damaged buildings or fearful of aftershocks.

‘Right now we need roofing and walls to have proper shelter for the night,’ she said.

‘We also need nets and blankets for sleeping, as we don’t want to sleep directly on the ground.’

Healthcare facilities, damaged by the quake and with limited capacity, are ‘overwhelmed by a large number of patients’, while supplies of food, water and medicine are running low, WHO said in an update.

Hopes of finding more survivors are fading, but there were moments of joy on Wednesday as two men were pulled alive from the ruins of a hotel in the capital Naypyidaw.

The junta said Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 2,886, with more than 4,600 injured and 373 still missing.

But with patchy communication and infrastructure delaying efforts to gather information and deliver aid, the full scale of the disaster has yet to become clear, and the toll is likely to rise.

Relief groups say the overall quake response has been hindered by continued fighting between the junta and the complex patchwork of armed groups opposed to its rule, which began after the military seized power in a 2021 coup.

Even before Friday’s earthquake, 3.5 million people were displaced by the fighting, many of them at risk of hunger, according to the United Nations.

Late Tuesday, an alliance of three of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic minority armed groups announced a one-month pause in hostilities to support humanitarian efforts in response to the quake.

The announcement by the Three Brotherhood Alliance followed a separate partial ceasefire called by the People’s Defence Force — civilian groups that took up arms after the coup to fight junta rule.

But there have been multiple reports of junta air strikes against rebel groups since the quake.

A junta spokesman said soldiers fired warning shots on Tuesday when a Chinese Red Cross convoy failed to stop while approaching a village in conflict-ridden Shan state to deliver aid to earthquake victims.

Hundreds of kilometres away, in the Thai capital Bangkok, workers continued to scour through the rubble of a 30-storey skyscraper that was still being built when it collapsed on Friday.

The death toll at the site has risen to 22, with more than 70 still believed trapped in the rubble.​

 

[Saif]

Govt should strengthen earthquake preparedness

BANGLADESH is considered an earthquake-prone region because of its location at the junction of the Indian, Eurasian and Burmese plates. The most recent earthquake of 7.7 magnitude in Myanmar and Thailand, leaving more than 2,000 people dead, is an ominous indication of the possibility of a major...

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Govt should strengthen earthquake preparedness
03 April, 2025, 00:00

BANGLADESH is considered an earthquake-prone region because of its location at the junction of the Indian, Eurasian and Burmese plates. The most recent earthquake of 7.7 magnitude in Myanmar and Thailand, leaving more than 2,000 people dead, is an ominous indication of the possibility of a major earthquake in the near future. The Fire Service and Civil Defence issued an official alert on March 28, identifying Dhaka, Chattogram, Mymensingh and Sylhet as high-risk regions and urged all concerned to take a nine-point measure that included constructing earthquake-resistant buildings, strengthening vulnerable buildings, ensuring proper maintenance of utility lines and improving public awareness and skills in earthquake prevention and response. These are important directives, but all parties concerned should incorporate them in their routine disaster prevention and management activities. Earthquake preparedness cannot be ensured with an order from the fire service offcials at a time of heightened risk, particularly when there are available data on the seismic movement in the region.

In 2023, when the National Centre for Seismology of India reported 14 earthquakes within a 300km radius of Dhaka, experts in Bangladesh suggested that these foreshocks could indicate a major earthquake in the capital. An earlier survey of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha predicted that around 865,000 buildings might collapse in an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 originating in the fault line in Tangail. The likely death toll has been estimated to be around 210,000, with 229,000 sustaining injuries if the disaster happens during the daytime. Unplanned urbanisation over the last few decades has led to a chaotic, congested concrete jungle where most of the buildings are not earthquake-resilient. The government has carried out risk assessment and mapping for earthquakes in major cities as well as set up more earthquake observatories and specialised equipment to detect tremors in vulnerable locations. It has a National Earthquake Contingency Plan that includes anticipating risks and disaster management after a major earthquake. It is also expected to have an adequate number of trained volunteers to keep the public informed of earthquake preparedness and response. Sadly, the plan has largely remained on paper.

It is virtually impossible to predict when a major earthquake would occur. It means that the government shlud have a system that is ready to respond any time. The primary emphasis should be given on extensive awareness and practical training. This includes regular drills in all public and private establishments, retrofitting risky buildings, enforcing earthquake safety technologies in new buildings and implementing the government guidelines on how to deal with the aftermath of an earthquake. The government should build capacity for prompt response, rescue and evacuation operations and treatment facilities in hospitals.​

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh needs an earthquake or two so we can start fresh.

Itar low class sotolok people in Bangladesh don't know how to live like human beings, defying all kinds of safety code forcefully by bribe, just so they can get an extra two feet extension to tower over the streets. And building willy-nilly with no regard to leaving access by vehicles (wider streets) or leaving sidewalks for people to walk on.

I have been to Savar and these idiots (and the bribed city coiporation over there just like Gazipur and Badda) have made these neighborhoods into living in hellholes, even those urbanized less than a decade ago. Just disgusting.

These itar Bangladeshis need a lesson like in Japan/Taiwan and now Myanmar/Thailand. Whether by act of Allah or otherwise.

So we can start fresh.

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh needs an earthquake or two so we can start fresh.

Itar low class sotolok people in Bangladesh don't know how to live like human beings, defying all kinds of safety code forcefully by bribe, just so they can get an extra two feet extension to tower over the streets. And building willy-nilly with no regard to leaving access by vehicles (wider streets) or leaving sidewalks for people to walk on.

I have been to Savar and these idiots (and the bribed city coiporation over there just like Gazipur and Badda) have made these neighborhoods into living in hellholes, even those urbanized less than a decade ago. Just disgusting.

These itar Bangladeshis need a lesson like in Japan/Taiwan and now Myanmar/Thailand. Whether by act of Allah or otherwise.

So we can start fresh.

Bilal bhai, we need a master plan to deal with such a devastating earthquake that we have seen in Myanmar. I am sure Japan can help us with technology.

 

[Bilal9]

Bilal bhai, we need a master plan to deal with such a devastating earthquake that we have seen in Myanmar. I am sure Japan can help us with technology.

We really have to change the way we build houses, Japanese stick-built wood-framed houses are built differently compared to Bangladeshi houses (similar to US housing but much finer in quality) - they do have brick and concrete houses in Japan, but even those are built VERY differently, with sprung flexible (shock-damper) foundations and having lots of cross-bracing.

Will be hard to implement in Bangladesh, being how undisciplined Bangladeshis are, just like the rest of the subcontinent. You can lead a horse to water - but you cannot make them drink it.

The problem is more basic, in how to design OUT neighborhoods (horizontally), rather than UP (vertically) like we do in Bangladesh now.

And leaving enough safety offsets so high-rise towers don't collapse and kill people in the surrounding areas, like what happened in Bangkok recently. American and Canadian suburbs are very safe this way, with wood-framed houses spaced out well, and earthquakes will do little damage.

Japanese suburbs are similar (just a bit more dense)

Imitating Japanese code means housing code enforcement and building offsets for earthquake bracing has to be super diligent in Bangladesh, which won't likely happen. Building owners will find a way to skirt the issue by bribing city officials and city plan approvers.

If one passes wind in one building and people in the next building can hear it - then you are building like rats live, and deserve to die like rats.

It is not in our undisciplined corrupted nature. And same goes for the rest of the subcontinent as well.

 

[Saif]

Myanmar military limiting aid in earthquake areas, UN says

Myanmar’s military is limiting critically needed humanitarian aid for earthquake victims in areas where it sees opposition to its rule, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also said it was investigating 53 reported

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Myanmar military limiting aid in earthquake areas, UN says
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 04, 2025 19:30
Updated :
Apr 04, 2025 19:32

A damaged building is pictured following a strong earthquake in Amarapura township, Myanmar, April 4, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Stringer/Files

Myanmar’s military is limiting critically needed humanitarian aid for earthquake victims in areas where it sees opposition to its rule, the United Nations human rights office said on Friday.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against its opponents since the earthquake struck on March 28, including air strikes, of which 16 came after a ceasefire on April 2.

On Friday, the office was made aware of a further eight attacks which it was looking into, it said.

A spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling junta did not respond to calls from Reuters seeking comment.

The humanitarian situation in earthquake areas, especially those out of the military’s control, was catastrophic, U.N. rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva.

The 7.7 magnitude quake, one of the strongest to hit Myanmar in a century, jolted areas home to 28 million people, toppling buildings, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter. Myanmar’s junta says the death toll has risen to more than 3,100.

“Limitations of aid is part of a strategy to prevent aid getting to the populations it sees as not supporting its seizure of power back in 2021,” said James Rodehaver, head of OHCHR’s Myanmar team, speaking via video link from Bangkok.

The need for aid was particularly urgent in Myanmar’s Sagaing region, and time was working against humanitarian agencies to help those in need, he added.

“Air strikes are alarming, shocking and need to stop straight away - the focus needs to be on humanitarian recovery,” Shamdasani said.

The government on state-run MRTV late on Wednesday announced a 20-day unilateral ceasefire effective immediately to support post-quake rehabilitation, but warned it would “respond accordingly” if rebels launched attacks.

Millions of people have been affected by Myanmar’s widening civil war, triggered by the coup that ousted the government of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

It has decimated the mainly agrarian economy, driven more than 3.5 million people from their homes and crippled essential services such as healthcare.​

 

[Saif]

UN calls for Myanmar support as quake death toll reaches 3,354

The United Nations called for the world to rally behind quake-hit Myanmar on Saturday as the death toll rose to 3,354, while a former USAID official said a U.S. aid team had received notice they were losing their jobs after arriving in the disaster zone. In addition to those killed by the March 28

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

UN calls for Myanmar support as quake death toll reaches 3,354
REUTERS
Published :
Apr 05, 2025 21:41
Updated :
Apr 05, 2025 21:41

Rubble lies near a damaged building following a strong earthquake in Pyawbwe township, Mandalay, Myanmar, April 4, 2025. Photo : REUTERS/Stringer

The United Nations called for the world to rally behind quake-hit Myanmar on Saturday as the death toll rose to 3,354, while a former USAID official said a U.S. aid team had received notice they were losing their jobs after arriving in the disaster zone.

In addition to those killed by the March 28 earthquake, 4,850 people were injured and another 220 are missing, state media said.

During a visit to Myanmar’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, which was near the epicentre of the 7.7 magnitude quake, United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher appealed for international support.

“The destruction is staggering. Lives lost. Homes destroyed. Livelihoods shattered. But the resilience is incredible,” he said in a post on X. “The world must rally behind the people of Myanmar.”

Myanmar’s neighbours, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescuers to aid the recovery effort in quake-hit areas that are home to about 28 million people over the past week.

The United States, which was until recently the world’s top humanitarian donor, had pledged at least $9 million to Myanmar to support earthquake-affected communities, but current and former U.S. officials say the dismantling of its foreign aid program has affected its response.

Three U.S. Agency for International Development workers who had travelled to Myanmar after the quake were told they were being let go, Marcia Wong, a former senior USAID official, told Reuters.

“This team is working incredibly hard, focussed on getting humanitarian aid to those in need. To get news of your imminent termination - how can that not be demoralising?” said Wong.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday the junta was restricting aid supplies to quake-hit areas where communities did not back its rule. The U.N. office also said it was investigating 53 reported attacks by the junta against opponents, including air strikes, of which 16 were after the ceasefire was declared on Wednesday.

A junta spokesman did not respond to calls seeking comment.

Free Burma Rangers, a relief group, told Reuters on Saturday that the military had dropped bombs in Karenni and southern Shan states on Thursday and Friday despite the ceasefire announcement, killing at least five people.

The victims included civilians, according to the group’s founder, David Eubank, who said there had been at least seven such military attacks since the ceasefire.

ELECTION PLANS

The leader of the military government, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, reaffirmed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the junta’s plans to hold “free and fair” elections in December when the two met in Bangkok, Myanmar state media said on Saturday.

Min Aung Hlaing made the rare trip to attend a summit of South and Southeast Asian nations on Friday, where he also met separately with the leaders of Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Modi called for the post-quake ceasefire in Myanmar’s civil war to be made permanent, and said the elections needed to be “inclusive and credible”, an Indian foreign affairs spokesperson said on Friday.

Critics have derided the planned election as a sham to keep the generals in power through proxies.

Since overthrowing the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, the military has struggled to run Myanmar, leaving the economy and basic services, including healthcare, in tatters, a situation exacerbated by the earthquake.

The civil war that followed the coup has displaced more than 3 million people, with widespread food insecurity and more than a third of the population in need of humanitarian assistance, the U.N. says.​