Myanmar's earthquake has killed more than 3,000 people, with forecasts of unseasonal rain presenting a new challenge for aid workers trying to reach people in a country wracked by civil war.
The death toll rose to 3,085 on Wednesday, with 4,715 injured and 341 missing, the military said.
Last Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake has flattened large parts of Myanmar's two largest cities, with rescuers continuing recovery efforts.
Conditions could get even tougher for the huge relief effort, however.
Unseasonal rain from Sunday to April 11 is forecast for some of the areas hardest-hit by the quake, including Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital Naypyidaw.
"Rain is incoming and there are still so many buried," an aid worker in Myanmar told Reuters.
"And in Mandalay, especially, if it starts to rain, people who are buried will drown even if they've survived until this point."
Countries including China, India and Russia have all sent hundreds of rescue and relief workers to Myanmar since the earthquake.
International aid groups have said food, water and medicine is urgently needed, with concerns growing about the spread of disease nearly a week on from the quake.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the organisations aid chief Tom Fletcher would arrive in earthquake devastated Myanmar on Friday, as he appealed for more international funding and rapid, unimpeded aid access in the country.
Mr Guterres said his special envoy for Myanmar, Julie Bishop, would also travel to the country in the coming days "to reinforce our commitment to peace and dialogue."
"The earthquake has supercharged the suffering – with the monsoon season just around the corner," Mr Guterres told reporters.
"I appeal for every effort to transform this tragic moment into an opportunity for the people of Myanmar."
Sagaing locals wait for aid
The United National Development program representative for Myanmar, Titon Mirta, said 80 per cent of the buildings in Sagaing were damaged, 50 per cent severely.
He said the hospitals were overwhelmed, with people being treated outside in 40 degree heat.
"We have seen children, pregnant women, injured people there. There's not enough medical supplies," Mr Mirta said.
"If you look at the overall impacted area, there's possibly three million-plus that may have been affected."
Local residents in Sagaing told AFP they were still waiting for help following the disaster.
"We have a well for drinking water but we have no fuel for the water pump," Aye Thikar told AFP.
"We also don't know how long we will be without electricity," she said.
Many people are still in need of mosquito nets and blankets, after being forced to sleep outside because the quake severely damaged or destroyed their home.
Many are also fearful of the aftershocks that continue to hit the area.
"People passing by on the road have generously donated water and food to us. We rely solely on their kindness," she said.
Myanmar junta leader arrives in Thailand
Despite the devastation, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has arrived in Thailand for a rare regional summit, which was also hit by the earthquake.
The junta chief arrived at Bangkok's plush Shangri-La hotel, the venue for Friday's summit, amid tight security, AFP journalists saw.
It is an uncommon foreign visit for the general, who is regarded as a pariah by many countries and the subject of Western sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation.
The military has struggled to run Myanmar since its return to power in a 2021 coup that unseated the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
His trip comes a day after his military announced a temporary ceasefire against groups opposing its rule across the country.
Richard Horsey, a senior advisor on Myanmar to the International Crisis Group, told ABC's The World program a ceasefire is crucial, particularly after soldiers opened fire at a Chinese aid convoy.
He said the call for peace was important, not because fighting has been taking place in the worst-affected areas, but because it helped ensure access to those cities.
The Chinese aid convoy was shot while travelling from south-west China to Mandalay, the easiest route to the city.
"The pre-existing conditions that were there because of the civil war — internet shutdowns, mobile phone shutdowns, checkpoints — these were not imposed to frustrate the aid effort," Mr Horsey said.
"A ceasefire, whether it is fully implemented or not, has now been declared by all sides immediately relevant to the area — that's really important I think."
He also said the junta really had no choice, particularly after the shooting incident, as China supports the military's rule in many ways.
"But what message does it send to the world when a regime is bombing its own people in the same time it's in the midst of this disaster?" he said.
"That is critical in terms of credibility, in terms of convincing other countries to contribute to the relief effort."
He was confident the ceasefire would hold because "none of the sides have anything to be gained from being seen as the ones who are violating this [ceasefire] at this time."
"There may be issues at the frontline, soldiers shooting at each other and so on, but that's not really the point," he said.
"The point is to send a signal that everyone — rebels, regime, and population are focused on the relief effort."
[THE WORLD IV]Nearly a week after the quake, that relief effort is also continuing in Thailand.
Searches are continuing the hunt for survivors under a collapsed skyscraper in the capital, Bangkok.
Rescuers used mechanical diggers and bulldozers to break up 100 tons of concrete to locate any still alive after the disaster that killed 15 people, with 72 still missing.
Thailand's nationwide toll stands at 22.
ABC/wires
