<
https://theconversation.com/thousands-are-feared-dead-in-myanmars-quake-trumps-usaid-cuts-will-cause-even-more-unnecessary-deaths-253403>
"In early 2021, after a decade of political and economic reforms, Myanmar
looked like it was finally beginning to shake off the hangover of decades of
military rule. Foreign investment was growing, and standards of living were
gradually improving.
In February that year, however, the military again grabbed power after ousting
Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a coup. This sent the
country spiralling towards civil war and social and economic collapse.
In the latest addition to the daily misery of Myanmar’s long-suffering people,
a huge 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the centre of the country on Friday. Its
epicentre was just outside Mandalay, the county’s second-largest city.
The Thai capital of Bangkok, more than 1,000 kilometres from the epicentre,
experienced extensive damage too. Video images showed a collapsing building
under construction and sloshing rooftop infinity pools causing waterfalls down
high-rise condominiums.
Information on the extent of the damage in Myanmar was slower to emerge, given
the junta has largely banned social media and communications apps, such as
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal and X.
The death toll has now passed 1,000 at the time of writing. US Geological
Survey modelling, however, suggests there could be more than 10,000 deaths and
economic losses potentially exceeding the country’s gross domestic product
(GDP).
Unusually for the isolationist military juntas of Myanmar, its leader, Min Aung
Hlaing, immediately issued a call for international assistance.
The junta, however, has full control of as little as 21% of the country in the
ongoing civil war, with the rest contested or controlled by ethnic armed groups
and resistance fighters. This indicates some hard-hit areas of the country may
be inaccessible to international aid.
Compounding these difficulties, the Trump administration has decimated the US
Agency for International Development (USAID) activities in the country. This
will make it far more challenging to determine the areas most in need and
distribute any aid on the ground."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
