Restoring power is the top priority for recovery efforts in Myanmar following a deadly earthquake, as March marks one of the country's hottest months, said a Chinese UN staff member.
Liu Chong, a Chinese UN staff member in Myanmar, told China Global Television Network (CGTN) that the hot weather is the biggest challenge to the rescue and recovery work, making power restoring the top priority for the current work.
"The difficulty for now is that we are out of power, out of water, and out of any network. We are in the dry season, so the temperature in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw can easily go up beyond 40 degrees (Celsius), and even last night I was not able to sleep because it was so hot. And for the people of Myanmar, you can imagine how they are suffering. So without electricity, there's no way to cool down, especially there's no AC, there's no fan functioning at the moment," he said.
Liu also noted that food and other basic living supplies are urgently needed for the people in the disaster areas, especially for the women and children.
"I think at the moment what they need the most is international rescue teams. From our side, we are mobilizing all the food and non-food items such as biscuits and treatment for malnutrition, resources for about roughly one million people," he said.
"Because we are serving the most vulnerable, that includes female-headed households, even children-headed households, as well as households with disabled people or pregnant women later stage or with children under five. So these are the people that we're most focusing on and for them access to food sometimes can be a challenge for them. So that's why I say food for those people is one of the top priorities for us," he said.
A total of 1,644 people died, 3,408 were injured, and 139 remained missing in the powerful earthquake in Myanmar, according to the Information Team of the State Administration Council on Saturday night.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the southeast Asian country on Friday, with Mandalay, Bago, Magway, the northeastern Shan state, Sagaing, and Nay Pyi Taw among the hardest-hit regions.
Power restoration top priority in recovery efforts following Myanmar earthquake: UN worker
Power restoration top priority in recovery efforts following Myanmar earthquake: UN worker
An official of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for more international funding to support the organization's urgent need to scale up its operation in Myanmar after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake devastated the country's central part on Friday.
Michael Dunford, Representative and Country Director for Myanmar of WFP, made the appeal during an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday.
He said the organization urgently needs more funding from international donors as the relief efforts enter the recovery phase.
"I expect that quickly the UN and other international actors will move more to the recovery phase, and this is where we will be looking for a joined-up approach and where we must have additional international funding," he said.
Funding shortage has been a challenge for WFP's operation in Myanmar. In mid-March, it warned that more than one million people in the country will be cut off from WFP's lifesaving food assistance starting in April due to critical funding shortfalls.
It said that these cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement, and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs.
Dunford said that since WFP has been forced to shrink its assistance in Myanmar, the sudden need to scale up its operation is particularly challenging.
"It's difficult. As I mentioned, we were in the process of downsizing our operation because of a lack of funding. Now, very quickly we need to upscale, so, we can only do that with funding. And ideally, we get funding for our previous operations and this additional requirement. Without that, we will struggle," he said.
According to a WFP statement released on Sunday, the organization is in a position to support 100,000 of the most affected people in Myanmar with ready-to-eat food first, followed by food and cash for food assistance to 800,000 people for a month.
It added that access to earthquake-hit areas and unreliable telecommunications continue to pose challenges for WFP and partners in mounting a full-scale response to massive needs.
The death toll from Friday's devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar has risen to 2,719, with 4,521 people injured and more than 440 still listed as missing, according to the Southeast Asian country's leader Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday.
WFP official calls for more funding to support operation in quake-hit Myanmar
