Earthquake Myanmar

Myanmar

Preliminary reports report more than 2,000 dead, more than 6,000 injured and more than 100 still missing in central and northwest Myanmar. Most of the casualties occurred in and around Mandalay. 

The earthquake caused widespread devastation. Houses have collapsed and critical infrastructure has been badly damaged. It is estimated that 70 percent of the infrastructure suffered damage as a result of the earthquake. Mandalay International Airport is closed to commercial flights for the time being. Important bridges, roads, universities, hotels, historic and religious sites, and public buildings in both urban and rural areas have been severely damaged or destroyed. 

Thousands of people are spending the night on the streets or in the open, fearing aftershocks or because their homes have become uninhabitable. More than 50 aftershocks hit the area in recent days.

Electricity and communication networks were damaged in the affected regions. In Mandalay, Sagaing, Southern Shan State there is no Internet and unstable coverage for telephone connections.   

The hospital in Mandalay has received so many patients that people have to be cared for outside in the parking lot.    

Thailand

Skyscraper under construction collapsed. 19 people lost their lives, 34 were injured and 76 are still missing. Hundreds of houses were damaged. Several bridges, buildings and transportation facilities were damaged. Local authorities and the government are closely monitoring the situation and all medical services are on standby in case there are aftershocks. Damage is being measured throughout the affected region. 

The Myanmar Red Cross took immediate action in the affected areas. It has more than 6,000 volunteers available across Myanmar. Teams in the affected regions are active on the ground, prioritizing search and rescue, first aid, transportation of the injured, pyschosocial support and damage assessment. They beg relief supplies, including blankets, water, food, hygiene kits. Furthermore, they provide shelter for those affected. A temporary relief camp and medical center was set up at the old airport in Chanmyathazi Township. In addition, the Myanmar Red Cross also sent specialized teams to the affected region to set up three mobile health posts and two water treatment facilities. z
Furthermore, it activated its national crisis communication and coordination system (EOC). The Bago branch also activated its local crisis center. Nine other national Red Cross associations are active in Myanmar.
Many people also lost contact with their loved ones, the Red Cross and the ICRC is helping locate these people and restore contacts using their RFL (restoring family links) network.
The focus is on emergency relief, recovery and rehabilitation for 20,000 households (100,000 people) in hard-hit regions such as Bago, Mandalay and Naypyidaw. IFRC's March 30, 2025 emergency appeal addresses the humanitarian needs of 100,000 people. Priority is given to the most vulnerable.

Assistance includes:

• Shelter, essential household items and financial support for reconstruction
• Health care, mobile clinics and psychosocial support
• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), including restoration of water sources
• Assistance in restoring contact with family members who lost touch

The Rapid Assessment and Coordination Team provides psychosocial support in Mandalay.

In the days following the earthquake, the Thai Red Cross informed citizens how to protect themselves should there be new aftershocks. Immediately after the disaster, the Thai Red Cross supported local governments in distributing relief supplies and shelter for those affected. Afterwards, the government took over coordination. The Thai Red Cross is currently focusing on supporting the Myanmar Red Cross. It has emergency relief supplies ready to ship and has a medical team on standby to depart for the disaster area.    

The massive earthquake in Myanmar has caused severe damage. Damaged bridges and highways between the capital Yangon and the affected areas hamper relief operations and make it difficult for aid workers to get to the scene. In addition, many homes have also been destroyed, forcing people to sleep outside. The country is currently experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures exceeding 40°C. People have insufficient shelter and drinking water, which increases the risk of dehydration. Meanwhile, prices of basic goods are rising, while overcrowded shelters and poor hygiene increase the risk of disease outbreaks. Local hospitals are overstretched due to the large influx of injured people.

Moreover, the monsoon season is also approaching, causing fears of floods, landslides that will only worsen the situation in the affected areas and delay aid.    

Disruptions in telecommunications and the Internet remain a major obstacle to humanitarian communications and coordination. Damaged roads and debris block access for aid workers and make it difficult to get a clear view of needs on the ground.

Hospitals and health facilities also suffered significant damage, severely hampering medical care. One of the Emergency Coordination Centers (EOC) has been damaged and communications are down.

Many evacuated communities reside in open areas without adequate shade and with a shortage of clean drinking water and water for domestic use. The extreme heat makes the situation even more dire for these families.

In addition, parts of Mandalay, Sagaing and Naypyitaw are without electricity, further exacerbating the crisis. Rising prices of basic foodstuffs, water and fuel make conditions even tougher for the affected population. 

A month after Myanmar's devastating earthquake, aftershocks continue to hit the country daily - some 140 have now been recorded. The earthquake left a huge trail of destruction, with more than 52,000 homes, 640 health posts and 2,661 schools destroyed. The disaster killed 3,869 people and injured 5,742. A total of 103,919 families and 347,704 people were affected.

Although access to some affected areas has improved somewhat, heavy damage to roads and infrastructure still poses a major challenge to relief efforts. Repeated power outages, telecommunications failures and unstable buildings make a rapid and efficient response especially difficult.

The region has also been hit by heavy rains since mid-April, while temperatures continue to hover around 40°C. Hundreds of families are forced to live outdoors or in makeshift tents, which cannot withstand these weather conditions. May also marks the start of the cyclone season, followed by the rainy season in June. This further increases the risks of disease spread and food shortages due to flooding and forces many affected families to relocate again.

The Myanmar Red Cross has so far been able to support 53,940 people. It has already been able to provide medical assistance to more than 2,500 people, including through mobile clinics. More than 35,000 people received access to clean drinking water and emergency sanitation. In addition, more than 13,000 people received essential relief items such as blankets, tarpaulins and cooking utensils.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders , together with the German Red Cross, was able to deliver some 42 tons of emergency relief supplies including tents, hygiene kits and jerry cans to the Myanmar Red Cross.

However, the needs remain great. There is an urgent need for safe shelter, access to clean water, medical supplies such as blood transfusion materials and medicines, and financial support for basic income and recovery. 

A plane carrying 42 tons of Red Cross relief supplies landed in Yangon, Myanmar, on Sunday. Myanmar Red Cross volunteers are currently distributing this aid to the affected population after the massive earthquake. Belgian Red Cross-Flanders worked closely with the German Red Cross to get the goods to the scene. 

The earthquake struck a region that was already particularly vulnerable. Many people are sleeping on the streets, without shelter or access to potable water. With this aid, we are ensuring that families regain a minimum level of safety and hygiene. 

The relief supplies include:

• 250 family tents  

• 2,000 thermal blankets  

• 1,000 tarpaulins  

• 2,000 ground covers 

• 2,000 jerry cans  

• 1,000 water bottles  

• 1,000 hygiene kits  

• 700 tool kits to set up emergency shelters 

All this was possible thanks to your donations and the support of the Flemish Government. 

Thanks to the donations we raised and those of the Flemish Government and in cooperation with the German Red Cross, we are able to send 42 tons of emergency relief supplies to people affected by the earthquake in Myanmar. This shipment includes family tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits and buckets.

From Berlin, several trucks left today for Liège. From there, via the European Commission's humanitarian airlift, a flight leaves for Yangon. Once it arrives, our Myanmar Red Cross colleagues will take care of distribution on the ground.

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders raised a total of €280,000 since the massive earthquake in Myanmar. The Flemish Government is contributing significantly to that amount by releasing €200,000. Red Cross aid workers provide medical care to injured people, distribute water and food and search for survivors with declining hope. At the same time, a large logistics chain is getting underway to support thousands of families with shelter, potable water, medical care and hygiene kits. The support from Flanders helps make this possible.

"The human toll after the earthquake in Myanmar is incalculable," said Flemish minister-president Matthias Diependaele. "Flanders is releasing €200,000 so that Red Cross Flanders can deploy some search and rescue teams and relief workers in the field, in addition to distributing emergency relief supplies, in order to provide assistance to those affected in the most efficient way possible."

Severe disaster in an already vulnerable area

On March 28, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck central Myanmar. The regions of Sagaing and Mandalay were particularly hard hit. More than 70 percent of the buildings in Sagaing sustained damage, many houses collapsed completely. Bridges and main roads were damaged, many electricity and communication networks are still down.

The disaster affects a region already struggling with political instability, a complex humanitarian landscape and now a heat wave with local temperatures around and above 40 degrees Celsius. That increases the risk of dehydration, disease outbreaks and delays relief efforts.

The first 72 hours save lives

Local Red Cross volunteers have been active with search and rescue efforts since the first hours. In that first phase, every minute counts: it is the moment when people can still be retrieved alive from under the rubble, and where medical help literally saves lives.

Relying on 6,400 volunteers and 600 staff locally, the Red Cross began providing medical assistance and distributing relief supplies. Specialized teams left for the affected regions to set up mobile health posts and water treatment points. Furthermore, a mission is also underway to further assess the damage and further identify needs. "Our local teams are doing what they can in particularly difficult circumstances," said Vincent Verbeecke, spokesman for Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. "Without electricity, with collapsed bridges and temperatures above 40 degrees, relief efforts are particularly tough. But these first days are crucial to save lives."

Logistics help in full construction

Hundreds of thousands of people in the affected region had already been displaced by violence. Now thousands are without homes and wandering the streets in search of water and food. "A gigantic chain has been set in motion to get logistical help to the ground. The challenge is to do this efficiently without disrupting the local environment," Verbeecke said. "It's important to make a trade-off there as well, is the need for additional aid workers or logistical resources the greatest, how can aid maximize lives saved."

"It's about resources like distributing tarpaulins, tents, potable water - up to 20 liters per person per day - to prevent disease outbreaks like cholera, and so much more." knows Verbeecke.

Gratitude to population and government

The support of the Flemish government represents an important lever. With €200,000, family tents, sleeping bags, hygiene kits and tarps, among other things, can be provided for thousands of people.

"The emergency relief should provide thousands of tarpaulins, sleeping bags, hygiene kits and tents. These are not symbols, these are literally life-saving resources," said Flemish Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele.

"We are grateful for the solidarity response. Both from the Flemish government and from all citizens who have already donated. Together we will make sure that help gets underway quickly." concludes Verbeecke.

Three days after the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, the need remains enormous, search and rescue teams continue to search with all their might for survivors. Heavy damage to roads and bridges complicates relief operations. On top of this, temperatures in some regions are running as high as 42 degrees. Many houses are no longer habitable, forcing people to sleep outside or in tents, without shade or shelter. The quake also hit many water installations, making clean drinking water scarce.    

Red Cross relief workers in Myanmar, many of whom have been affected by the disaster themselves, are making every effort to help as many people as possible. Besides begging for relief supplies, food parcels, mosquito nets, they also provide emergency shelters, temporary water treatment facilities and psychosocial support.  

Financial aid is now the most efficient way to help provide basic needs such as medical care, shelter and food to the affected people. 

Anke, program coordinator at the Red Cross, was featured on VTM news Saturday around the Red Cross' role in Myanmar. The message was clear: Funds are hugely welcome, because the needs are, after all, great. 

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is immediately releasing €100,000 from its emergency relief fund to support humanitarian aid following the massive earthquake that struck Myanmar. The quake, measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale, caused severe damage in Mandalay and Sagaing regions, among others. 

Electricity and communication lines down, roads blocked

The death toll is mounting, with fears of hundreds of casualties. Collapsed bridges, blocked roads and downed power and communications networks make it extremely difficult to get a full picture of the situation.  

Local Red Cross volunteers in action for search and rescue operations

The Myanmar Red Cross has activated its national crisis communication and coordination system (EOC). They have more than 6,000 volunteers, teams in the affected regions are active in the field, prioritizing search and rescue, first aid and damage assessment. Nine other Red Cross national societies are active in Myanmar. "Local teams are doing what they can, despite the unsafe conditions and hard-to-reach areas," said Vincent Verbeecke, spokesman for Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. "The logistical challenges are enormous. It's all hands on deck."

Immediate support

Belgian Red Cross-Flanders is immediately releasing €100,000 to meet the initial needs while seeking support.

"Financial aid is the most efficient way to get help going at this stage of the disaster," Verbeecke said. "The needs are great: medical care, shelter, potable water, psychological support and basic goods. The threat of aftershocks makes the situation even more difficult - both for the affected population and for aid workers."

Donations are welcome to BE53 0000 0000 5353 marked "Earthquake Myanmar."