The National Disaster Management Committee held its meeting at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday afternoon, with an address by NDMC Chairman State Administration Council Vice-Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice-Senior General said that regarding the Assessment, Search & Rescue Level (ASR Level) Standards for Search and Rescue Operations, search and rescue operations have been mostly carried out and completed in Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, Bago Region, and Sagaing Region, and are progressing in Mandalay Region.
The building renovation and reuse and construction committee has been formed. This committee is responsible for conducting inspections and assessments, assigning colour-coded classifications based on their findings, and submitting the resulting classification data to the Disaster Management Centre. According to the data as of 25 April, the earthquake has caused 3,763 deaths, 5,107 injuries, and 110 people are reported missing. A total of 2,095 emergency rescue personnel from 26 countries arrived via 147 aircraft, seven ships, and 23 vehicles. They also provided a total of 3,833.84 tonnes of supplies, comprising 2,635.92 tonnes of relief aid and 1,197.12 tonnes of rescue equipment.
Moreover, international medical teams have set up temporary hospitals and clinics in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, and the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area to provide emergency treatment and healthcare services.
Local well-wishers donated cash to the government whereas international well-wishers donated foreign currencies for rehabilitation measures. Up to 24 April, internal and international well-wishers donated more than K115,876 billion, more than US$2.437 million, 5 million Korean won, 15 million Indian rupees, two million baht and S$3,150 to the State and regional and state governments. These cash donations have been inserted into the accounts of the National Disaster Management Committee. The fund is being spent on rescue, relief and rehabilitation operations systematically.
The Head of State provided K50 billion for Sagaing Region and K60 billion for Mandalay Region for emergency use. Moreover, K10 billion was granted for the Nay Pyi Taw Council Area and K5 billion for Shan State. The Disaster Management Committee has sent the financial assistance to the respective council area and regions. These funds were provided to ensure the swift removal of damages and losses to carry out the reconstruction efforts in the earthquake-affected areas.
The Prime Minister has instructed that domestic and international relief supplies be distributed as quickly as possible and directly to the people in the earthquake-affected areas without keeping them in reserve. According to the preliminary reports as of 24 April, more than 63,000 residential homes, over 6,700 schools, more than 5,000 monasteries and nunneries, 5,342 pagodas, 613 other religious buildings, 370 hospitals/clinics, as well as some roads, bridges, dams, and reservoirs have been damaged or destroyed in Nay Pyi Taw Council Area and 10 regions and states.
According to figures from the Disaster Management Committee as of 23 April, a total of 128,965 households and 629,206 individuals were affected by the earthquake. There were 135 rescue camps sheltering 48,656 individuals, while 159,239 people relocated according to their own arrangements. Moreover, a total of 421,311 people continued to stay in their homes despite being affected by the earthquake, as their residences were still livable. The Prime Minister has given guidance that support for the reconstruction of damaged houses should be provided based on past experiences with natural disasters and the degree of damage. Plans are being made to distribute financial assistance to each household based on average calculations.
Regarding staff housing, colour-coded levels have been designated for the damaged staff apartment buildings. These colour levels have corresponding criteria, which have already been inspected and finalized by the committee responsible for supervising the renovation and reconstruction of buildings. In particular, the red and orange levels indicate that moderate to major repairs are required. For temporary accommodation, bashas and modular houses are currently being constructed. The construction costs for these buildings can be submitted to the State after verification, and if approved, the government will cover the expenses.
In constructing buildings, only those structures that can withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale should be built, and buildings currently under construction should also be designed and constructed to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 8 on the Richter scale.
The government has permitted the importation of construction materials and other necessary items. In carrying out rehabilitation and reconstruction activities, the government will take responsibility for tasks that it ought to handle. If the public also contributes as much as they can within their capacity, it will be possible to successfully overcome the natural disaster.
In the international context, early recovery activities are typically carried out throughout six to 12 months, medium-term recovery activities from one to two years, and long-term recovery efforts from two to five years, and if necessary, up to 10 years. Myanmar will be able to successfully carry out effective recovery and reconstruction operations depending on resources.
Vice-Chairs of the committee Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung and Dr Soe Win discussed cooperation between internal and international rescue teams, distribution of drinking water in affected regions and states, settlement of quake-affected staff at temporary camps, preparation to form the medium team, aid for people and service personnel and distribution of aid to affected areas.
Chairman of the Building Renovation and Reuse and Construction Committee Union Minister General Maung Maung Aye reported on the formation of the committee, the clearing of debris, the opening of temporary offices, an inspection of offices, staff housing and special buildings, and plans to conduct repair structures and building new buildings.
Attendees at the meeting discussed requirements to assess the change of ground due to the earthquake, the release of information about the earthquake to the people through the State-owned media, repairs of damaged dams and reservoirs, the readiness of aircraft and helicopters of the Tatmadaw (Air) for conducting rescue and transport services on time and progress of rehabilitation.
The Union Minister for Industry presented a report on plans to increase the production of cement starting from 15 May and in September, and the price of cement was set at K17,000 per bag.
In concluding remarks, the Vice-Senior General stressed the need to study earthquake-resilient designs with the help of international professionals, systematic acceptance of internal and international aid, construction of safety buildings for service personnel, release of daily production of cement, and issuance of citizenship scrutiny cards to the quake victims.
Also, present at the meeting were the Chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, deputy ministers and departmental heads together with the chief ministers of Sagaing, Bago, Magway and Mandalay regions and Shan State through videoconferencing.
MNA/TTA
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