Cologne/Yangon/Mae Sariang. A severe earthquake with magnitude 7.7 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 Myanmar, 180 employees in Yangon and Shan State work to 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: olga.palinkasev@malteser-international.org

The people in Thailand and Myanmar are in urgent need of donations.