RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia-based Mercy Chefs said it has teams on the ground responding after Friday's 7.7 magnitude quake in Myanmar, which killed more than 1,600 people and injured more than 3,400.
Team members have been in the country for the last two years working with local organizations providing food, water, and other necessities.
CEO Gary LeBlanc said the ongoing civil war and humanitarian crisis, compounded by this most recent natural disaster, has been "devastating," citing the growing danger volunteers face in rendering aid.
"This is one of the greatest crises that hasn't been reported that we've seen in our 18 years. The need is critical, the need is overwhelming; there are people who have lost their homes, and there are businesses that have lost loved ones. Their way of life was already horribly at risk, and for them to be wondering where their next meal is going to come from seems like something I can't turn my eyes from. So, Mercy Chefs will do everything it can do to get this job done," LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc said where team members are located, how many are on the ground, and who Mercy Chefs is working with must be kept private due to safety concerns.
"We've not seen anything like this earthquake. I mean, we've worked in other earthquakes around the world in Turkey and Haiti and volcanoes in Guatemala, but this one is uniquely different because it's an isolated country, because of the political unrest there," LeBlanc said. "They're continuing to bomb villages that were affected by the earthquake; in the immediate aftermath, and then ongoing through the last 36 hours, the bombing has continued."
LeBlanc said that a curfew and military surveillance, as well as a lack of access to Internet or phone service
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