MYANMAR DECLARES WEEK OF NATIONAL MOURNING AS DEATH TOLL FROM EARTHQUAKE SURPASSES 2,000
Oladipupo Olamiposi@olamiposioladipupo247606
2 days ago
Myanmar today declared a week of national mourning for the country’s devastating earthquake, as the death toll rose to 2,056 with hopes of finding more survivors in the rubbles in doubt.
According to the ruling junta in a statement, national flags will fly at half-mast until April 6 in sympathy for the loss of life and damages.
The announcement came as the tempo and urgency of rescue efforts wound down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected cities and the country’s second-largest, with more than 1.7 million inhabitants.
This is as people camped out in the streets across Mandalay for a third successive night, either unable to return to ruined homes or nervous about the repeated aftershocks that rattled the city over the weekend.
Meanwhile, with communications down across parts of the country, the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge and the death toll is expected to rise significantly.
