Myanmar’s devastating disaster left a year of nationwide mourning as the death toll surpassed 2, 000 and hopes of finding more victims in the dust of destroyed buildings faded.
National colors will fly in half-mast until April 6 “in love for the loss of living and problems” from Friday’s large 7.7-magnitude collapse, the ruling junta announced in a statement.
The news came as recovery work slowed down in Mandalay, one of the worst-affected places and the second-largest city in the nation, with more than 1.7 million people.
Aung Myint Hussein, the chief executive of Mandalay’s Sajja North dome, said,” The condition is so severe that it’s difficult to express what is happening.”
For a second night in a row, people stayed in the pavements of Mandalay, either apprehensive about returning to destroyed homes or concerned about repeated aftershocks that erupted over the weekend.
Some had huts, but several, including young children, sat on pillows in the middle of the road to avoid falling stone.
More than 3, 900 people were injured, and 270 are also missing, according to the coup, who announced the death toll on Monday.