A powerful, deadly earthquake struck at the heart of civil war-ravaged Myanmar on Friday, piling fresh misery on an impoverished nation that was cut off from much of the world even before this natural disaster struck. <\/p>\n
The timing could hardly be worse. The Southeast Asian country is reeling from a raging civil war between a military junta that seized power in 2021, and pro-democracy fighters and ethnic rebel groups battling to overthrow it. <\/p>\n
The war \u2013 now in its fifth year \u2013 has ravaged communications and transport in Myanmar, making it particularly difficult to get a clear picture of the damage. <\/p>\n
So far authorities say more than 1,000 people have died. But experts fear the real toll will be far higher and could take weeks to emerge. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we know so far. <\/p>\n
On Saturday fragments emerged showing the destruction wrought by the quake from former royal capital Mandalay, home to around 1.5 million people and the city closest to its epicenter. <\/p>\n
And they spoke of desperately rushing injured loved ones to medical care \u2013 or the agonizing wait for news of friends still missing or trapped under the rubble. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt hit very strong and very fast,\u201d she said of the earthquake. She recalled she was boiling water to make milk for her baby when the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck not far from her home to the east of the city. <\/p>\n
Part of the wall of the house collapsed onto the woman\u2019s grandmother who was sitting nearby, burying her legs in rubble and debris, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe door couldn\u2019t open as a fence had collapsed onto it. I shouted out for help and my husband came in from the street. He jumped on the door and managed to open it.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cUntil now, we have not been able to recover their dead bodies from rubble,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The quake also shattered some of the city\u2019s mosques which were busy with worshippers attending Friday prayers, one man said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the buildings collapsed, many Muslims got trapped inside, causing casualties and deaths\u2026 In one mosque, there are more than a hundred injured.\u201d <\/p>\n
Across the mighty Irrawaddy river that runs past Mandalay, there is also destruction in Sagaing region, a more rural area, where many live in more flimsy \u2013 but more earthquake survivable \u2013 wooden and thatched houses. <\/p>\n
Nang Aye Yin, 34, heard news that the nunnery where a relative of his was studying had collapsed. <\/p>\n
\u201cLuckily no one died, but two were badly wounded. One of my nieces aged 11 lost three toes and another nun had her head broken as well as one of her legs.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hospitals in both Sagaing and Mandalay turned them away as they were already at full capacity, he said. <\/p>\n
Myanmar\u2019s military junta seized power in a 2021 coup after a brief 10-year experiment with democracy. Before that, Myanmar\u2019s generals ruled for decades. And generally, whenever disaster struck, they would eschew foreign help and play down the impact. <\/p>\n
This time it\u2019s different. <\/p>\n
Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing took the unusual step of quickly asking for foreign aid. He visited the city of Mandalay on Saturday to inspect the damage, state media reported, as well as the capital Naypyidaw which was also hit hard. <\/p>\n
On Saturday several neighboring countries began sending rescue teams and aid. <\/p>\n
A team from China \u2013 historically one of the junta\u2019s closest partners \u2013 were the first to arrive, touching down in Myanmar\u2019s commercial hub Yangon bringing relief supplies, Chinese state media said. <\/p>\n
Singapore, Malaysia, India and Russia also announced they would send help. <\/p>\n
But for those in quake-stricken Mandalay, around 380 miles away and with transportation uncertain, the wait driving them mad. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy head is going to explode while waiting for calls for friends who cannot be found yet,\u201d the former lawyer said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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