SINGAPORE: The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) has pledged S$150,000 to support emergency relief efforts in Myanmar and Thailand, after a magnitude-7.7 earthquake rocked the neighbouring countries on Friday (March 28).
The major disaster has killed 144 people in Myanmar and injured 732 others, with the death toll expected to rise, according to Myanmar’s junta chief.
At least nine fatalities were confirmed in the Thai capital Bangkok, where authorities declared a state of emergency. Eight people died in a building collapse and over 100 are thought missing at the site.
The SRC’s $150,000 sum is an “initial” contribution, to be followed shortly by a public fundraising appeal, the group said on March 29.
Money will go towards addressing immediate needs, like the distribution of food, water, blankets, tarpaulins, and hygiene kits - essential supplies.
Secretary-general and chief executive of the SRC Benjamin William said the humanitarian organisation is deeply concerned about the affected communities, where many are “injured, displaced and in urgent need of assistance”.
He said: “Widespread damage to infrastructure is hindering urgent rescue and relief operations on the ground. The scale of devastation calls for swift and coordinated humanitarian response.”
The group is working closely with local red cross societies and stands ready to give further assistance, including the deployment of humanitarian responders to the ground, SRC added.
The March 28 quake was followed by a powerful aftershock of magnitude 6.4 and several lesser ones.
Much of the damage was in Mandalay, the epicentre of the quake and Myanmar’s second-largest city, known as a Buddhist heartland.
The civil war in Myanmar, which erupted in 2021 after the military junta mounted a coup, is likely to hamper the rescue and relief operation.
Violence has flared across much of the South-east Asian country as old insurgent groups and new civilian resistance forces fight back against junta rule.
The conflict has displaced over three million people in Myanmar, according to the UN. - The Straits Times/ANN
