The smell of decaying bodies permeated the streets of Myanmar's second-largest city on Sunday, March 30, as people worked frantically by hand to clear rubble in the hope of finding someone still alive, two days after a massive earthquake struck that killed at least 1,700 people and left countless others buried.
The 7.7 magnitude quake hit midday Friday with an epicenter near Mandalay, bringing down scores of buildings and damaging other infrastructure like the city’s airport.
Relief efforts have been hampered by buckled roads, downed bridges, spotty communications and the challenges of operating in a country in the midst of a civil war.
The search for survivors has been primarily conducted by the local residents without the aid of heavy equipment, moving rubble by hand and with shovels in 41-degree Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) heat, with only the occasional tracked excavator to be seen.
"It's mainly been local volunteers, local people who are just trying to find their loved ones," said Cara Bragg, the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services in Myanmar.
"I've also seen reports that now some countries are sending search and rescue teams up to Mandalay to support the efforts, but hospitals are really struggling to cope with the influx of injured people, there's a shortage of medical supplies, and people are struggling to find food and clean water," Bragg added.
Many of Mandalay's 1.5 million people spent the night sleeping on the streets, either left homeless by the quake, which also shook neighboring Thailand and killed at least 18 people there, or worried that the continuing aftershocks might cause structures left unstable to collapse.
The World Health Organization said Sunday the Myanmar earthquake was a top-level emergency as it urgently sought $8 million to save lives and prevent disease outbreaks over the next 30 days. "Without immediate funding, lives will be lost and fragile health systems will falter."
The local Myanmar Red Cross Society has mobilized trained volunteers to provide help, launching search and rescue efforts, administering first aid, distributing emergency relief items and deploying mobile health teams.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an emergency appeal Sunday for more than $100 million to help 100,000 people with life-saving relief.
US President Donald Trump on Friday vowed Washington would assist Myanmar, describing the quake as "terrible". "It's a real bad one, and we will be helping. We've already spoken with the country," Trump told reporters.
The European Union said it was providing 2.5 million euros in initial emergency aid and assessing the needs on the ground in order to mobilize further assistance.