A NEW 5.1 MAGNITUDE AFTERSHOCK RATTLED THE SURVIVORS OF FRIDAY'S DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA.

RESCUE TEAMS WORKED FRANTICALLY TO PULL SURVIVORS FROM THE RUBBLE IN MANDALAY, THE COUNTRY OF MYANMAR'S SECOND LARGEST CITY.

CASUALTY NUMBERS ARE EXPECTED TO RISE BUT OFFICIAL TOTALS STILL INDICATE APPROXIMATELY 1,600 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED.

IN THAILAND, MORE BODIES WERE PULLED TODAY FROM A COLLAPSED BUILDING IN BANGKOK.

"SAVE THE CHILDREN" HAS TEAMS ON THE GROUND THERE NOW.

THIS MORNING, I SPOKE WITH JEREMY STONER, THE INTERIMIMSIA REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN AND ASKED HIM ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE QUAKE IN THAILAND AND WHO'S BEEN HIT THE WORST.

>> BANGKOK HAS FELT THE REAL PRESSURE IN TERMS OF SOME DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS.

BUT MOST OF ALL I THINK IT'S BEEN A VERY DEEPLY FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE FOR RESIDENTS ACROSS THE CITY, MUCH OF WHICH, AS YOU MAY KNOW, IS HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS.

BUT ACTUALLY THE AREA WHICH IS OF MOST CONCERN TO SAVE THE CHILDREN IS ACTUALLY WITHIN MYANMAR ITSELF, THERE ARE SIX REGIONS OF THE COUNTRY THAT ARE IN SORT OF THE CENTER OR THE EPICENTER AROUND THE EARTHQUAKE.

AND THAT ACCOUNTS FOR ABOUT 28 MILLION PEOPLE IN THAT AREA.

NOT ALL OF THOSE WILL BE AFFECTED.

BUT OUT OF THAT 28 MILLION, THERE'S ALMOST SEVEN MILLION CHILDREN.

SO THE EARTHQUAKES HAD A HUGE IMPACT IN MYANMAR ITSELF, LESS SO IN THAILAND.

BUT IN MYANMAR, IT'S THE WORST EARTHQUAKE FOR THE LAST 100 YEARS, SO IT'S A BIG DEAL.

IT REALLY IS.

>> AS WE NOTED, WE'RE SPEAKING TO YOU IN THAILAND, BUT CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE DIFFICULTY OF REACHING THE AREAS IN MYANMAR THAT HAVE THE GREATEST NEED?

>> IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO GET ROBUST INFORMATION OUT.

AND THAT'S BECAUSE INFRASTRUCTURE, LIKE ROADS AND IN SOME CASES, BRIDGES, BUT ALSO BUILDINGS WHICH HAVE COLLAPSED ACROSS THE REGIONS HAVE REALLY MADE IT VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO BUILD AN OVERALL PICTURE OF WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING ON THE GROUND.

A COMMUNITY WORKER IN THE SHAN REGION IN MYANMAR WHO CONTACTED SAVE THE CHILDREN, THAT'S ONE OF THE REGIONS THAT'S BEEN AFFECTED.

HE HAS TWO CHILDREN OF HIS OWN, AND HE WAS SAYING THAT IN HIS TOWNSHIP, A SMALL TOWNSHIP MORE THAN 200 BUILDINGS HAD COLLAPSED.

I MEAN, THE OVERARCHING SORT OF IMAGE, AND I CAN ALMOST HEAR IT WHEN HE WAS DESCRIBING IT, WAS THAT AT THE TIME OF THE EARTHQUAKE, CHILDREN AND ADULTS WERE RUNNING INTO THE STREETS, CHILDREN SCREAMING, ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AROUND THEM.

AND THIS WAS JUST IN THE FIRST SECONDS AND THE FIRST MINUTES OF THE EARTHQUAKE.

AND WHAT'S NEEDED NOW ON THE GROUND IS URGENT MEDICAL SUPPORT FOR THOSE CHILDREN AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO'VE ACTUALLY SURVIVED THE EARTHQUAKE BUT ALSO OTHER LIFE-SAVING THINGS ARE REQUIRED, THE BASICS OF LIFE BASICALLY, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOOD, CLEAN WATER, AND SHELTER.

AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SHELTER AFTER A VERY SEVERE EARTHQUAKE LIKE THIS, PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY TOO SCARED TO GO BACK INTO THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THEY'RE WORRIED THAT THERE'LL BE ANOTHER AFTERSHOCK OR ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.

AND SO YOU'LL FIND PEOPLE SLEEPING OUT ON FOOTBALL FIELDS AND IN MONASTERIES AS WELL, WHERE LOCALLY MONASTERIES HAVE TAKEN IN PEOPLE AND FAMILIES TO SUPPORT THEM.

ALSO THERE'S A LONGER-TERM IMPACT, PARTICULARLY ON CHILDREN IN TERMS OF THEIR SORT OF, THEIR MENTAL WELLBEING, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SPEND QUITE A LOT OF RESOURCES INVESTING IN AFTER EARTHQUAKES EVERYWHERE WHERE WE WORK.

>> CAN YOU HELP US WITH THE TIMELINE HERE?

OBVIOUSLY, SOME URGENT NEEDS, LIFE AND DEATH NEEDS RIGHT NOW.

BUT HOW LONG COULD AN AREA LIKE THIS BE IN CRISIS FROM AN EVENT LIKE THIS?

>> DEPENDING ON THE OVERALL SEVERITY OF THIS, WHEN WE GOT A VERY GOOD SORT OF BROADER PICTURE, YOU KNOW, WE COULD BE TALKING ABOUT AT LEAST A YEAR OR TWO OF SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH THEIR IMMEDIATE CRISIS AND THEN SOME OF THE MEDIUM AND LONGER TERM THINGS.

A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

AND AGAIN, CHILDREN, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AFTER A HUGE TRAUMATIC EVENT LIKE THIS THAT CHILDREN GET BACK INTO SCHOOL AND GET SOME KIND OF NORMALCY BACK INTO THEIR LIVES.

SO THAT THEY CAN START TO REBUILD THEMSELVES AS WELL AS THEIR COMMUNITIES.

>> HOW CAN PEOPLE HERE AT HOME HELP?

>> WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND WHICH WE ACCEPT DONATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC AND THAT CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITES AND PEOPLE CAN GIVE THERE.

SO THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT WAY OF DOING IT, AND THIS BASICALLY - - THAT ENABLES US TO PROVIDE LIFE-SAVING SUPPORT AND MEDIUM TO LONGER-TERM SUPPORT TO REBUILD CHILDREN'S AND COMMUNITIES' LIVES OVER THE COMING COUPLE OF YEARS.

>> JEREMY STONER WITH SAVE THE CHILDREN.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

>> PLEASURE, THANK YOU.

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