Myanmar earthquake toll passes 3,000 amid disease fears

The death toll following last week's earthquake in Myanmar stands at more than 3,000, according to the country's rulers.

Aid agencies have warned that extreme heat and heavy rain could cause disease outbreaks among survivors who are camping in the open, complicating rescue efforts made difficult by a civil war.

Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, jolted a region home to 28 million people, toppling buildings, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.

The number of deaths is 3,085, the ruling junta said, with 4,715 injured and 341 missing.

The World Health Organization warned of a rising risk of cholera and other diseases in the worst-affected areas, such as Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital Naypyitaw, as it prepared $1 million (€907m) of relief supplies, including body bags.

"Cholera remains a particular concern for all of us," said deputy head of the WHO's Myanmar office, Elena Vuolo, pointing to an outbreak in Mandalay last year.

The risk was worsened by damage to about half of healthcare facilities in the quake-hit areas, including hospitals destroyed in Mandalay and Naypyitaw, she said.

People are camping outdoors in temperatures of 38C because they are too scared to go home and many hospitals are setting up temporary facilities.

Skin disease, malaria and dengue are among the illnesses that could result from prolonged crises, such as in Myanmar, Ms Vuolo added.

But conditions could become even tougher for the huge relief effort after weather officials warned that unseasonal rain from Sunday until 11 April could threaten the areas hardest-hit by the earthquake.

"I've heard that in the next day or two there are rains (expected)," Myanmar representative of the United Nations Development Programme Titon Mitra said during a visit to Sagaing.

"If that hits, we've got people, lots of people now, in temporary shelters, makeshift camps out on the streets, and that's going to be a real problem," he said, while flagging the UN's concerns about an outbreak of waterborne disease.

The weather extremes will add to the challenges faced by aid and rescue groups, which have called for access to all affected areas despite the civil war.

The United Nations Secretary General said that a temporary post-earthquake ceasefire should come into effect, quickly leading to negotiations on its civil war.

"An end of fighting must quickly lead to a beginning of a serious political dialogue and the release of political prisoners," Antonio Guterres said.

He also called for a surge in aid before the monsoon season hits, adding that UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher and special envoy Julie Bishop would visit Myanmar in the coming days.

Despite the devastation, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has left his disaster-stricken country for a visit to a regional summit in Thailand's capital Bangkok, state television said.

It is an uncommon foreign trip for a general regarded as a pariah by many countries and the subject of Western sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation.

The military has struggled to run Myanmar since its return to power in a 2021 coup that unseated the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The generals have been internationally isolated since the takeover and the country's economy and basic services, including healthcare, have been reduced to tatters.

Yesterday, state-run MRTV said that a unilateral government ceasefire would take immediate effect for 20 days, to support relief efforts after the quake, but warned that authorities would "respond accordingly" if rebels launched attacks.

The move came after a major rebel alliance declared a truce on Tuesday to assist the humanitarian effort.

Nearly a week after the quake, searchers in neighbouring Thailand continue to comb a mountain of debris left after a skyscraper collapsed while under construction in Bangkok.

Rescuers are using mechanical diggers and bulldozers to break up 100 tons of concrete to locate anyone still alive.

Fifteen people died in the collapse and 72 are missing. Thailand's nationwide toll stands at 22.