Solar Energy News
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
by AFP Staff Writers
Sagaing, Myanmar (AFP) April 3, 2025

A 21-year-old shopkeeper with little money of her own, Ei Hay Mar Hlaing has delivered more help to victims at the epicentre of Myanmar's devastating earthquake than most national or international aid organisations.

When she saw the carnage the 7.7-magnitude tremor had inflicted on the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar, she decided to act.

"Myself and my friends gathered our pocket money and asked for donations," she told AFP at her impromptu distribution site Thursday.

"We can't afford much because we are youths. We donated with what we had. If anyone can afford it, I would like to request them to help."

They loaded a truck with drinking water, instant noodles, energy drinks and electrolytes, plus first-aid kits, and headed to the disaster zone from their homes in Monywa, about 110 kilometres (63 miles) away.

In matching white helmets, she and around eight of her friends handed out supplies in a field next to a school in Sagaing.

Scores of would-be recipients whose homes have been destroyed or made uninhabitable packed tightly together, hoping to secure a share of the goods.

Lwin Myint, 56, was looking for help for her family of six.

"I came here to see if I can get some snacks and water," she said. "Now, we do not have a place to live.

"We haven't received anything except some packets of rice and curry, and water as we queue. I want some rice and oil if possible."

Another woman walked away with two bottles of water and a few packs of instant noodles, looking slightly dazed.

A tattooed pro-junta militiaman armed with an assault rifle paced between the queues of mostly women to maintain order.

Over several days in the disaster zone, AFP journalists have not seen soldiers actively taking part in rescue or aid efforts, aside from one group putting up tents for the displaced around Mandalay Palace.

International rescue teams -- many of them Chinese -- have been working at multiple disaster sites in Mandalay, but in neighbouring Sagaing, organisation logos are mostly remarkable by their absence.

Instead, the road to the city was jammed with civilian aid convoys from neighbouring regions, draped with banners declaring the aid was sent to victims by their fellow Burmese.

"Myanmar has been experiencing earthquakes, flood, fire and bombing. I am sad to see them," said Ei Hay Mar Hlaing, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "Believe Yourself".

"I want everyone to be okay," she said. "I want international communities to help us as much as they can."

At a World Food Programme site in the city -- the only international aid distribution AFP saw in Sagaing on Thursday -- bags of rice, boxes of fortified biscuits and bottles of sunflower oil were being handed out.

"The situation is really devastating" in Sagaing, said the UNDP's Resident Representative for Myanmar Titon Mitra, estimating 80 percent of buildings had been damaged, "50 percent probably severely".

"The markets are inoperable, the hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed, the structural integrity of the hospital itself is now compromised, so everyone is outside."

The hospital's medical director told Mitra he had received no international assistance.

"This is a crisis on top of a crisis on top of a crisis. The economy had collapsed, people's coping mechanisms had collapsed and on top of that, you have this earthquake.

"So, the short answer is that needs are immense."

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake; Ceasefire declared
Sagaing, Myanmar (AFP) April 3, 2025
Entombed under his hotel bed for five days in the debris, two things enabled teacher Tin Maung Htwe to survive Myanmar's devastating earthquake: old school lessons and his own urine. The primary school headmaster was on a training course in Sagaing, the closest place to the epicentre, when the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck. The 47-year-old remembered a decades-old school lesson to shelter under a bed if the world starts to shake. "As soon as I went under the bed, the whole hotel fell down ... read more

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Tunisian startup turns olive waste into clean energy

Airlines cast doubt on EU sustainable fuel targets

Eco friendly low-cost energy storage system from pine biomass

Why Expanding the Search for Climate-Friendly Microalgae is Essential

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Facing US competition, EU suggests loosening AI, data rules

Frontgrade unveils GRAIN space chip series with neuromorphic AI integration

AI could impact 40 percent of jobs worldwide: UN

In shift, OpenAI announces open AI model

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Chinese energy giant Goldwind posts annual growth as overseas drive deepens

Clean energy giant Goldwind leads China's global sector push

Engineers' new design of offshore energy system clears key hurdle

Student refines 100-year-old math problem, expanding wind energy possibilities

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
China's BYD forecasts record first-quarter net profit

Starmer unveils support for tariff-hit auto sector

Fatal Xiaomi crash raises questions about assisted driving tech in China

Chinese EV giant BYD surpasses rival Tesla with record 2024 revenue

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Smart home platform lowers energy costs and boosts grid resilience

Battery boom drives Bangladesh lead poisoning epidemic

Commercial fusion milestone sets stage for next-gen power

A lifetime power source in miniature form

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Study explores radiation-driven chromium chemistry in molten salt reactors

Framatome and TechnicAtome complete acquisition of valve manufacturer

Framatome to upgrade digital systems at Swiss Leibstadt nuclear facility

WPI researcher to explore efficient uranium extraction from industrial wastewater

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Iraq signs deal with US firm to produce 24,000 MW of electricity

EU delays 2040 climate target until summer

Cuba looks to sun to solve its energy crisis

Tajikistan to jail people for illegal electricity use

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
AI tool aims to help conserve Japan's cherry trees

Lula admits 'still a lot to do' for Indigenous Brazilians

'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest

AI tool aims to help conserve Japan's cherry trees

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.