Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State, is grappling with a severe water shortage following the devastating 28 March earthquake that had its epicentre close to Mandalay City.
Tremors from the earthquake reached southern Shan Tate, including Taunggyi City. Ever since, the residents there have been struggling with severe water shortages as water pumps cannot work all the time due to electrical outages.
A Taunggyi resident said to the Shan Herald: “The power's been out since the earthquake, and I haven't had a shower in three days. Water has become really scarce, not just for daily use but even for drinking. We're using solar panels to charge our phones. In Taunggyi, you can call for a water tanker truck, but demand's so high you have to order at least a day in advance. And the prices have shot up, we've had to cut back on food just to afford water.”
Before the earthquake, buying water from a tanker truck cost between 8,000 and 10,000 MMK, but now it ranges between 40,000 and 50,000 MMK, depending on the distance.
The earthquake also caused sediment to block many of the artesian wells where water sellers get their water from, which has exacerbated the water shortage.
The water in artesian wells is under pressure, so normally there is no need to pump it to the surface. But since the wells became blocked with sediment the pressure is now insufficient to push the water to the surface at the artesian wells. Instead, the water has to be pumped up to the surface using pumps, which costs more money.
A water seller who supplies Taunggyi City said: “I'm getting more than a hundred water orders every day, but the artesian wells we used to rely on are blocked now. We can't get water from them anymore, so we have to use generators to [run pumps to] pump water, and that means spending on diesel. That's why we’ve had to raise the prices.”
The earthquake has caused widespread electrical outages not just in Taunggyi, but throughout Myanmar. Areas that already had a poor electricity supply have been left without electricity but efforts to restore power are apparently underway.
Communities in the Inle Lake area of Nyaungshwe Township, which neighbours Taunggyi Township, have also been badly affected by the earthquake and are urgently in need of emergency drinking water, food, and other relief supplies.
