Last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake has left thousands of survivors in urgent need of humanitarian aid in southern Shan State’s Nyaung Shwe Township, local sources told Myanmar Now on Tuesday.
“Nearly every village needs help,” a humanitarian volunteer said. “There are many essentials needed, including utensils.”
The earthquake killed an estimated 90 people in the township and is confirmed to have killed almost 3,000 in the country, with the confirmed death toll expected to rise.
Local relief groups said casualties had been reported in at least eight villages on the shores of Inle Lake within the most heavily impacted area of southern Shan State. The quake destroyed at least 150 houses in the Tha Le U Inn village on the eastern shore, locals told Myanmar Now.
“Two people died in our village. There are also bodies still missing and yet to be recovered,” a woman from Tha Le U Inn said. “People couldn’t escape when the houses collapsed into the water.”
As the earthquake hit last week people scrambled to escape their own homes, many of which were built on stilts over the water, she said.
“The shaking was so violent. It wasn’t easy to get out of my house. I had to jump into the water as my house was about to collapse.”
Over nine hundred of the stilt-houses standing offshore in the lake collapsed during the earthquake, according to sources.
The highest confirmed death toll was reported in Kay Lar village tract, where 46 people including children and the elderly were killed as houses collapsed into the water.
“Most of the victims, including a 17-year-old and a 4-year-old, died after getting trapped in their collapsed homes. Those who were working on the floating farm at the time only narrowly escaped death,” a man from Kay Lar said.
“Those who lost their homes are currently taking refuge in makeshift shelters on the shore while others are staying on their boats, using bamboo for cover from the elements,” he added.
Nearly 1,000 houses were also destroyed in Nang Pang village tract on the southern shore of the lake, according to a tally by local monitoring groups.
Rescue operations in the Inle Lake area are being carried out by local volunteers who are severely limited by their lack of heavy machinery and sufficient manpower, locals said.
The effects of the earthquake are likely to harm the tourism industry that affords vital support to the area around Inle Lake, a popular destination for visitors thanks to its floating farms and famous vistas.
At least nine people died when a six-storey hotel collapsed in Aungpan, southern Shan State some 15 miles west of Inle Lake. In Nyaung Shwe Township, the quake caused less severe damages to hotels and guesthouses, forcing them to close for repairs.
“At least eight bungalows and the main lounge area including the reception and dining room were damaged by the quake,” a man in Nyaung Shwe Township working in hospitality told Myanmar Now. “We’ve suspended operations for now, as it will take around five months to repair the damages.”
