An emergency appeal has been launched after the 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck Myanmar last week, where 2,800 people were killed, with thousands more injured and buildings in the worst hit areas in ruins.
With it being thought that the actual number of dead could be much higher, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an appeal to raise funds for those impacted. DEC charities and local partners are already in Myanmar to assist with search and rescue efforts, as well as provide emergency aid, with Saleh Saeed, committee chief executive, saying that the devastation from the earthquake was “heart-breaking, with thousands of people suddenly losing loved ones in the most shocking of ways".
He went on to say that Myanmar was "in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis" in the wake of the 2021 military coup, and now the situation is ever more critical".
He went on: "We know that money is tight for many people here in the UK as the cost-of-living crisis continues, but if you can, please do donate to support the hundreds of thousands of people, children and families caught up in this deadly disaster." Country director of CARE International in Myanmar, Arif Noor, added: “That emergency relief teams are witnessing complete devastation everywhere we go."
"People traumatised by the earthquake are sleeping on the streets, with no clean water or food to eat and nowhere to escape from the heat," he said.
"They simply don't know where to turn or where to find safety." Broadcast appeal films to raise funds to support the charities' responses have been aired on multiple TV channels, with every pound donated by the British public to be matched by the government through its UK Aid Match scheme, up to the value of £5 million.
