Cologne/Yangon/Mae Sariang. A severe earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale has struck Myanmar and Thailand today. The quake occurred at 12:50 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 kilometers close to the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar. Tremors were also felt in Thailand more than 1,000 kilometers away. Official information on the number of deaths is not yet available from the affected countries. Malteser International has been supporting people in Thailand and Myanmar for several decades. The organization will immediately provide emergency relief of 250,000 euros for the affected areas to provide rapid assistance.
“We will start by providing the people in Myanmar who have lost everything in the quake with food, clothing, hygiene items, tarpaulins, buckets, blankets, and soap. Our staff members report that the quake was felt throughout the country. Our teams in Thailand, where we provide health care to refugees on the border with Myanmar, are currently assessing the situation. All our staff members were unharmed by the quake. We will now start an emergency relief operation together with local partner organizations,” says Cordula Wasser, head of the Asia department at Malteser International.
Malteser International has been working in Thailand since 1979 and in Myanmar since 1996. In Thailand, the organization provides health care for refugees near the Myanmar border. In Yangon and Shan State in Myanmar, we provide health, water, hygiene, and sanitation services to the population.
Attention editors:
Cordula Wasser, Head of the Asia Department at Malteser International, is available for interviews and sound bites.
Media contact: +49 (0)221 9822-7181, katharina.kiecol@malteser-international.org
The people in Myanmar and Thailand are in urgent need of donations:
Malteser Hilfsdienst e. V.
IBAN: DE10 3706 0120 1201 2000 12
S.W.I.F.T.: GENODED 1PA7
Keyword: „Earthquake Myanmar/Thailand“
Read more about our emergency relief after the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand.
