Aftershocks and lack of resources hinder recovery work 3 weeks after Myanmar's deadly earthquake

BANGKOK (AP) — Basic services have yet to be restored to the areas of Myanmar worst hit by a huge earthquake three weeks ago, and emergency workers recovering bodies and clearing debris are contending with regular aftershocks and lack of resources, humanitarian services say.

A situation report issued late Friday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said frequent strong aftershocks continue to shake central Myanmar almost daily, increasing fear and uncertainty among affected residents, disrupting response effort s and exacerbating the pressure on already limited resources and services.

“Three weeks after catastrophic twin earthquakes hit Myanmar on 28 March, the worst-affected communities are still without safe shelter, clean water and sanitation, stable electricity, health care and essential services,” the report said.

The epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude quake was near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, but it hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states including the capital, Naypyitaw.

It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the country’s civil war that had internally displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the United Nations.

A report in the state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper published on Saturday said the quake's death toll had reached 3,726, with 5,105 people injured and 129 still missing. It said 1,975 international rescuers and medical workers from 25 countries had collaborated with local rescuers in saving 653 people and recovering 753 bodies from under rubble.

Myanma Alinn said 65,096 houses and buildings, 2,514 schools, 4,317 Buddhist monasterial living quarters, 6,027 pagodas and temples, 350 hospitals and clinics, 170 bridges, 586 dams and 203 sections of the country’s main highway were damaged by the earthquake.

Myanmar Fire Services Department, an official emergency services agency operating in many areas of the country, said in statements posted Friday on its Facebook page that rescue workers were carrying out relief, search and cleaning debris from the big buildings, and had returned valuable jewelry, cash, and documents found among the rubble to their owners.

It also said that rescuers recovered two bodies from collapsed buildings in Mandalay.

An official from Myanmar Rescue Federation (Mandalay), which has been operating along with the firefighters, told The Associated Press on Friday that the priority three weeks on from the earthquake was to clear bodies and debris from under bigger buildings, while also providing assistance to the survivors affected by the earthquake.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he fears arrest for speaking without authorization, said the number of bodies recovered daily has decreased to only one or two.

Another emergency services worker in Mandalay, similarly speaking on condition of anonymity, said the number of rescue teams operating in Mandalay has been steadily decreasing as most of the international rescue teams had returned to their countries after their work to find survivors was considered completed. He said local rescue workers were mainly participating in clearing debris and providing assistance.

The United Nations Development Program earlier this month estimated that at least 2.5 million tons, or roughly 125,000 truckloads, of debris from the quake needs to be removed. It based its estimate on remote sensing analysis of images obtained by satellites.

UN-Habitat, the U.N. agency for human settlements, said in a statement on Friday that its staff and the Myanmar Engineering Society were collaborating in assessing widespread building damage in earthquake-affected regions.

In Naypyitaw, almost all rescuers have ceased their relief efforts, while government buildings that were damaged by the earthquake have not yet been repaired and remain in their post-earthquake condition, said a resident who asked not to be named for security reasons. In residential areas, people have almost completed clearing the debris on their own.

Saturday's report in Myanma Alinn said Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government, told his Cabinet members during a meeting on Friday that the urban layout of Naypyitaw will be redesigned.

Naypyitaw became Myanmar’s capital in 2006 after being built at great expense almost from scratch next to what had once been a logging center inhabited by largely by farmers. It is notable for its grandiose government buildings and under-utilized multi-lane roads.

Rescuers clean debris from damaged roads in the aftermath of the March 28 earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

People clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake on March 28, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

People clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake on March 28, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

People clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake on March 28, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

People clean debris from damaged buildings in the aftermath of an earthquake on March 28, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Voters in Kosovo cast ballots on Sunday in an early parliamentary election in hopes of breaking a political deadlock that has gripped the small Balkan nation for much of this year.

The snap vote was scheduled after Prime Minister Albin Kurti's governing Vetevendosje, or Self-Determination, party failed to form a government despite winning the most votes in a Feb. 9 election.

The deadlock marked the first time Kosovo could not form a government since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 following a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO intervention.

The prime minister's party is again the favorite in the race, but it is unclear whether it will manage to muster a majority this time in the 120-member parliament, after other mainstream parties refused an alliance.

According to Kosovo’s election laws, 20 parliamentary seats are automatically assigned to ethnic Serb representatives and other minority parties.

Another inconclusive vote would further deepen the crisis. Kosovo has not approved a budget for next year, sparking fears of possible negative effects on the already poor economy in the country of 2 million people.

Lawmakers also are set to elect a new president in March as current President Vjosa Osmani’s mandate expires in early April. If this fails too, another snap election must be held.

The main opposition parties are the Democratic League of Kosovo and the Democratic Party of Kosovo. They have accused Kurti of authoritarianism and of alienating Kosovo’s U.S. and European Union allies since he came to power in 2021.

A former political prisoner during Serbia’s rule in Kosovo, the 50-year-old Kurti has taken a tough stand in talks mediated by the European Union on normalizing relations with Belgrade. In response, the EU and the United States imposed punitive measures.

Kurti has promised to buy military equipment to boost security.

No reliable pre-election polls have been published. Kurti's party at the previous election won around 42% of the votes while the two main rival parties had together around 40%.

Analysts say that even the slightest changes in numbers on Sunday could prove decisive for the future distribution of power but that nothing is certain.

Ilmi Deliu, a 71-year-old pensioner from the capital, Pristina, said he hoped the election will bring a change or “we will end up in an abyss.”

"Young people no longer want to live here,” he said.

Tensions with restive ethnic Serbs in the north exploded in clashes in 2023 when scores of NATO-led peacekeepers were injured. In a positive step, ethnic Serb mayors this month took power peacefully there after a municipal vote.

Kurti has also agreed to accept third-country migrants deported from the United States as part of tough anti-immigration measures by the administration of President Donald Trump. One migrant has arrived so far, authorities have told The Associated Press.

Kosovo has one of the poorest economies in Europe. It is one of the six Western Balkan countries striving to eventually join the EU, but both Kosovo and Serbia have been told they must first normalize relations.

Supporters of Belgrade-backed Srpska Lista prepare to go at a polling station and cast their ballots in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter arrives at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

A voter prepares her ballot at a polling station in an early parliamentary election in the northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)

People walk past a giant banner of the leader of VV (Selfdetermination) political party Albin Kurti, in the capital Pristina on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

People waiting in the iluminated bus station with banners of LDK (Democratic League of Kosovo) leader Lumir Abdixhiku in capital Pristina on Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)