In the parking lot of Mandalay General Hospital, dozens of patients — many with their heads and arms bandaged — were lined up on stretchers, or cardboard, in 100-degree heat. Many more lay directly on the concrete.
“More injured people keep arriving, but we do not have enough doctors and nurses,” said Dr. Kyaw Zin, a surgeon at the hospital. “The cotton swabs have almost run out.”
He said the hospital was so jammed with injured people after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake on Friday that “there is no space to stand.” Phone lines were down so he has not been able to contact his parents. “I’m very worried about my parents,” he added. “But I can’t go back home yet. I have to save lives here first.”
Even before the quake, the health care system in Myanmar had been pushed to its limits. The military junta that has led the country since a 2021 coup has cracked down on doctors and nurses, who have been at the forefront of a nationwide civil disobedience movement that has opposed the regime. Myanmar is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a health worker, according to New York-based Physicians for Human Rights.
Dr. Kyaw Zin said that he was about to start surgery when the earthquake struck. Everybody, including patients, ran outside.
On Friday afternoon, ambulance sirens shrieked. The injured kept coming. Nurses checked on patients in the parking lot, some of whom were hooked up to intravenous drips. People moaned for help. The smell of blood hung in the stifling heat.
The junta said it did not have the full death toll. Damage to infrastructure could hinder access to regions that have already been struggling amid a bloody civil war. The epicenter of the earthquake, the Sagaing region, has been a focus of resistance to military rule.
The World Health Organization said information was still hard to get because of aftershocks and disruptions to communications systems. The agency added that it was looking to send trauma supplies from its logistics hubs to support Myanmar.