Rain hinders aid efforts as Myanmar toll rises to 3,471

Rains fell on parts of earthquake-hit Myanmar over the weekend, which aid agencies said could complicate aid efforts and raise the risk of disease as the United Nations (UN) chief calls save more lives to needed to shelter those left homeless.

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The death toll from the powerful quake that hit on March 28 rose to 3,471, state media reported, with 4,671 people injured and another 278 still missing.

Aid agencies have warned the combination of the unseasonable rains and extreme heat could cause outbreaks of disease, including cholera, among quake survivors who are camping in the open.

“Families sleeping outside the ruins of their homes while bodies of loved ones are pulled from rubble. Real fears are more quakes,” visiting UN aid chief Jan Egeland said in a press briefing.

“We need to get tents and hope to survivors as they rebuild their shattered lives,” he said, adding strong, coordinated action was the key to saving as many lives as possible.

Myanmar's neighbours, such as China, India and Southeast Asian nations, are among those that dispatched relief supplies and rescue workers past week to aid the recovery effort in quake-hit areas that are home to about 35 million people.