Myanmar’s major earthquake — and how to help
On March 28, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, with its epicenter near Mandalay. The post Myanmar’s major earthquake — and how to help appeared first on Lion’s Roar.
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Myanmar was hit earlier today by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake — felt also in Thailand, China, India, and Vietnam. A quake of this size is of course never good, but as Amnesty International’s Myanmar expert Joe Freeman says, this “could not come at a worse time” for the country, as “over a third of the population will need humanitarian assistance this year [while] impacts of US aid cuts are just starting to bite.”
At least 150 people have died, and 732 injured, with rescue operations continuing in Bangkok and elsewhere. “The scale of the damage,” reports The Guardian, “is yet to become clear, though social media footage emerging from central regions has shown many buildings collapsed or damaged.” The U.S. Geological Survey, reports The New York Times, has estimated that the death toll is likely to surpass 1,000.
The quake’s epicenter was near Mandalay, with that city and Sagaing taking on a great deal of damage. Even the famed Bagan temples, near Sagaing, have been further compromised after first sustaining significant damage in 2016’s earthquakes there.
The British Red Cross has launched a Myanmar Earthquake Emergency Fund; you can contribute to it here:
https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/myanmar-earthquake-emergency
Rod Meade Sperry is the editor of Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar’s online source for committed Buddhists, and the book A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Practical Advice and Inspiration from Contemporary Buddhist Teachers. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his partner and their tiny pup, Sid.
