The Guardian view on Myanmar’s earthquake: aid must reach beyond the junta

International donors will need to work with the country's fragmented local administrations as well as its military rulers

Restrictions on the press and internet imposed by the military junta that rules Myanmar mean that information about the powerful earthquake that struck the country on Friday, just before 1pm local time, was even more incomplete than usual in the aftermath of a disaster. At least 144 people are reported to have been killed - a death toll that is certain to rise - while a state of emergency was declared in the Thai capital, Bangkok. There, eight people are confirmed to have died while dozens of construction workers arefeared trapped after the high-rise building that theywere working on collapsed. Further aftershocks are expected and will make the work of rescuers andthosedelivering humanitarian assistance in bothcountries harder.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.7, is the most severe to hit the region since 1956, which means buildings are unlikely to have been designed with this threat in mind. The disaster could not have come at a worse time for Myanmar's people, with more than 18 million already either displaced or facing hunger, according to the UN. In Rakhine state, 2million people are at risk from famine, with the junta accused of inflicting collective punishment" on them. An estimated 6.7 million children live in earthquake-affected areas, including the country's second-biggest city, Mandalay, which is 17km from the epicentre. As this was a Friday, during Ramadan, many people are thought to have been crushed as busy mosques fell down.

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