Myanmar scrambles for aid, toll nears 1.7k

The toll from Myanmar's earthquake continued to rise on Sunday, as foreign rescue teams and aid rushed into the impoverished country, where hospitals were overwhelmed and some communities scrambled to mount rescue efforts with limited resources.

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The World Health Organization said that the earthquake was a top-level emergency as it urgently sought $8 million to save lives and prevent disease outbreaks over the next 30 days.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, jolted the wartorn southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving around 1,700 people dead, 3,400 injured and over 300 missing as of Sunday, the military government said.

In Thai capital Bangkok, which was also hit by the devastating quake, the toll rose to 17.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said 32 people were injured and 83 still unaccounted for most from the site of a 30-storey under-construction tower that collapsed when the quake struck.

WHO said the high numbers of casualties and trauma injuries were at high risk of infection due to limited surgical capacity in the country, while the underlying conditions in Myanmar meant the quake was likely to intensify the risk of disease. "WHO has classified this crisis as a Grade 3 emergency — the highest level of activation under its Emergency Response Framework," the UN health agency said in its flash appeal for funds.

Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, warned that the number of fatalities could go up and his administration faced a challenging situation, state media reported, three days after he made a rare call for international assistance.

"The destruction has been extensive, and humanitarian needs are growing by the hour," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.