Rain is compounding misery and presenting new hurdles for relief efforts on Sunday in Myanmar, where state media reported the death toll from a devastating earthquake has risen to nearly 3,500 people.
The 7.7-magnitude quake struck on March 28, razing buildings, cutting off power and destroying bridges and roads across the country.
Damage has been particularly severe in the city of Sagaing near the epicentre, as well as in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second city with more than 1.7 million residents.
State media in the military junta-led country now say that the earthquake has caused 3,471 confirmed deaths and injured 4,671 people, while 214 remain missing.
With people either having lost their homes entirely or reluctant to spend time in cracked and unstable structures, many residents have been sleeping outside in tents.
Around 45 minutes of heavy rain and winds lashed tent cities on Saturday evening in Mandalay, according to the UN Development Programme.
People and their belongings were soaked because of a shortage of tarpaulins, Tun Tun, a programme specialist at the UN agency, told AFP.
There are also fears destroyed buildings will subside and complicate body recovery efforts.
Following less intense showers Sunday morning, the temperature is due to climb to 37 degrees Celsius.
“The weather is very extreme,” Tun Tun told AFP, with further rain forecast. Aid experts warn that rainy conditions and scorching heat increase the risk of disease outbreaks at outdoor camps where victims were in temporary shelter.
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher said that food, water, and power repairs were needed urgently, in a video filmed in Mandalay and posted to X on Sunday.
