Emergency teams had already ended searches for survivors two days after Myanmar’s March 28 earthquake killed more than 50 people in Mandalay Region’s Wundwin Township.
“We wrapped up our rescue operations on March 30,” said the representative of a local social welfare team. “The death toll stands at 51, with 81 people injured and 305 houses damaged.”
Wundwin Township, located some 70 miles south of Mandalay, sustained severe damage from the quake, including the collapse of pagodas, monasteries, and other religious buildings.
At least nine people died in the collapse of a textile factory on the outskirts of the town, which is located on the Yangon-Mandalay highway.
“Eight employees from the No.7 textile factory lost their lives,” a resident of the township said. “A child living in factory-provided housing was also killed when the building collapsed.”
Over two days of operations, social welfare teams say they saved more than 40 survivors in Wundwin Township and were able to transport around 20 with injuries to Naypyitaw and Mandalay for treatment.
Seven women and six men died in the small town of Thea Taw, Wundwin Township, a local volunteer told Myanmar Now on Friday.
“Our team managed to cremate 11 bodies. Our team’s founder was among the victims killed by the earthquake,” the Thea Taw-based volunteer said.
The earthquake’s impact in Thea Taw was severe, with 15 houses completely destroyed and around 150 sustaining some form of damage, the social welfare volunteer added.
According to local sources, people in Wundwin Township have been sleeping outside of their homes since the quake due to the danger from ongoing aftershocks. Many also lack access to running water and electricity due to the disaster’s effects.
In addition, rescue operations in the township were hampered by a lack of heavy machinery that would have enabled response teams to clear the rubble from collapsed buildings, locals said.
“We are not clearing the rubble and debris because we can’t do it with manpower alone,” a Wundwin Township resident said. “The cost for renting and transporting heavy machinery is very high.”“A 500-litre water tank costs 5,000 kyat [US $2.40],” a man from Thea Taw said. “We welcome any kind of donation. Financial support in particular would be very helpful.”
