Mandalay, March 31 (RHC)-- The death toll in Myanmar from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake has topped 2,000 and is expected to rise significantly as rescuers try to reach people buried under rubble. 

At least 19 people also died in Thailand.  The World Health Organization, the WHO, is warning healthcare facilities in Myanmar are overwhelmed as aid and humanitarian groups express alarm over the devastation.

WHO spokesperson Su Mon Htay told reporters: “People are just desperate, devastated.  And when I see the damage at the bridges and the roads, it was so huge.  I have never seen anything like that in my life before. … We were so astonished when we see the situation in Mandalay.  Everything is gone, and people are still trapped.  And the casualties and everything is still counting.”

The New York Times reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s dismantling of USAID has hampered the U.S. response to the earthquake in Myanmar.  While China, Russia and India quickly sent emergency teams, a three-person team from the U.S. is not expected to arrive until Wednesday. 

On Friday, some employees at USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance received layoff emails while they were preparing to respond to the earthquake.

[ SOURCE:  DEMOCRACY NOW ]