Myanmar still in desperate need after quake, Thailand says

By Panu Wongcha-um

(Reuters) -Quake-stricken Myanmar is still in desperate need of medical assistance, field hospitals and shelters, Thailand's foreign minister said, stressing the importance of a coordinated regional relief effort and long-term support.  

The 7.7 magnitude quake on March 28 was one of the strongest to hit Myanmar in a century, jolting a region that is home to 28 million people, toppling buildings, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter. 

The military government said 3,645 people were killed in the quake, with 5,017 injured and another 148 missing. Nearly 49,000 houses and more than 2,100 government buildings were destroyed. 

Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa and Malaysian counterpart Mohamad Hasan met with Myanmar officials on Saturday in the quake-hit capital Naypyitaw and saw the scale of the devastation.

"What Myanmar needs is field hospitals," Maris said in an interview late on Tuesday. "Their existing hospitals can't operate to their full capacity due to damage from the quake," he said.

There was also a need for temporary shelters, mosquito nets, food, water filters and clean water supplies, Maris said, with fears rising about communicable diseases among those made homeless, compounded by the intense summer heat. 

On Wednesday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs thanked the more than 30 search-and-rescue teams from 13 countries that had been deployed to find survivors, some of which were now departing Myanmar.   

"Their expertise was crucial in the immediate aftermath - helping locate survivors and support communities in their darkest hours," OCHA said in a Facebook post. 

The Chinese search-and-rescue team left Myanmar on Wednesday having completed its mission, state news agency Xinhua reported.

A fifth batch of emergency aid supplies from China arrived on Wednesday weighing 91 tonnes, it said, including 266 tents and thousands of mosquito nets and tarpaulin sheets. 

BIG BLOW

The disaster was a major blow to a country that has been grappling with a wilting economy and a widening civil war triggered by a 2021 military coup, with an estimated 3.5 million people displaced in Myanmar long before the quake struck, according to the United Nations. 

The junta and rebel groups have announced unilateral ceasefires to support the quake relief effort, but have accused each other of violating the agreements. 

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing said the government must ensure in the reconstruction effort that buildings can withstand natural disasters.

"It is necessary to take lessons of dreadful losses in past events," he was quoted as saying in Wednesday's state media. "Officials need to supervise the construction of buildings rigorously."

Maris, Thailand's top diplomat, said plans were also being drawn for medium- and long-term assistance for Myanmar, including reconstruction of damaged areas.

Malaysia wanted to coordinate the regional relief effort in Sagaing, he said, with Thailand handling humanitarian efforts in Mandalay. Both areas were near the quake epicentre.  

The aim was to improve capacity on the ground to ensure foreign aid into Myanmar from Southeast Asian countries was optimised, he added. 

"We told Myanmar that apart from helping the people, the two teams will help manage coordination efforts coming in," Maris said. 

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Shoon Naing; Additional reporting by Jessie Pang and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Martin Petty)