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
