Sagaing communities hit by Myanmar’s March 28 earthquake say they still need humanitarian aid as junta raids and damaged roads deter relief operations.
Little relief has reached the two villages near Yay Khar Inn lake at the quake’s epicenter – around 9km from Sagaing city – which are affected by armed conflict that deters relief operations.
Residents are going hungry and struggling to remove collapsed buildings as nearby junta raids discourage community groups from delivering aid to the two remote villages via damaged roads.
Residents are going hungry and struggling to remove collapsed buildings, while roads to the villages were wrecked by the earthquake.
A Yay Khar villager said: “There are two villages beside Yay Khar Inn lake. The lake water is salty and undrinkable. Our village has large cracks. We need everything, including drinking water, but transport is blocked.”
Spirulina, known for its detoxifying and nutritive properties, grows in the lake. The Sagaing fault line between the Minwun and Sagaing hills runs beneath the lake and the lake’s depth has declined by about 60cm since the quake.
In neighboring Kyauk Tar, around 100 of the village’s 733 houses collapsed and 74 others need to be demolished. The two villages only reported one quake injury.
Both villages suffered from water shortages until 2012, when water from the Irrawaddy River began to be piped. However, the quake broke the pipelines and electricity has not been restored.
“We can’t dig wells and we are relying on water donations. When no water arrives, we take buckets to the Irrawaddy,” said a Kyauk Tar villager.
Villagers said the regime has provided no assistance while donors and community groups have provided temporary shelters.
Some residents have paid laborers to clear debris and demolish smaller houses but heavy machinery is needed for most collapsed buildings.
Junta troops from Sagaing city raided villages in the area in late April, displacing villagers and preventing community groups from delivering quake relief.
The regime blocked humanitarian supplies to resistance-held areas affected by the earthquake.
