The official death toll from Myanmar’s earthquake disaster has surpassed 3,600, with more than 5,000 people injured and 160 still missing, as international rescue efforts wind down amid a relief effort hampered by extreme weather.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 28 March was the most powerful with its epicentre in the country since 1912, and struck communities on the front lines of a civil war between the current military rulers and an array of armed ethnic groups.
The earthquakes have impacted the lives of 17 million people, according to the UN’s emergency aid coordination body, OCHA. Of those, it says nine million are experiencing the highest levels of devastation.
The ruling junta, which came to power after a February 2021 coup, has allocated $240 million to relief efforts, but the UN has also accused the military rulers of restricting aid to opposition-held areas as aftershocks continue to rock the Mandalay region.
The junta has been accused of diverting and confiscating aid in the past. Aid sources speaking to The New Humanitarian said they have not heard of any blocks on aid efforts carried out by international organisations, despite earlier reports to the contrary.
The UN allocated $17 million for immediate aid, including food, shelter, water, sanitation, debris removal, and healthcare, but relief efforts have been hampered both by rain and sweltering conditions.
Despite announcing temporary ceasefires, the junta and armed groups have traded blame for continuing attacks in earthquake-affected areas. The UN says they have received reports of 14 breaches of the ceasefire by the military. Both the military and opposition armed groups have claimed to be responding to attacks from the other side.
The nation’s fire services department said rescue crews from India, Malaysia, and Singapore had completed their work on 7 April and left the country.
As relief efforts continue for millions affected, the following reading list aims to provide context and background on the many challenges communities in Myanmar were already facing even before the latest disaster struck:
Myanmar earthquake worsens one of the world’s largest and most neglected humanitarian crises
Communities near the epicentre have faced years of junta abuses, ongoing battles between the military and armed groups, and, more recently, aid cuts.
For Myanmar’s war victims and Rohingya refugees, US aid cuts are disastrous
Aid officials and Rohingya refugees say vital programmes are already closing down, and they expect worse to come on both sides of the border.
Myanmar in “polycrisis” as US aid freeze compounds long-term donor neglect
Conflict, disease, and poverty are driving unprecedented needs as junta rule enters a fifth year. So why is humanitarian assistance shrinking?
Rohingya civilians recall alleged Arakan Army abuses
The most well-known armed group taking on Myanmar’s ruling junta faces renewed accusations of rape, night raids, and murder.
Do ‘good rebels’ exist in Myanmar?
A briefing that explains who the different ethnic armed groups are, what abuses they stand accused of, and what they are seeking.
The UN envoy, the controversial aid plan, and Myanmar’s fast-changing war
Given the current dynamics, is it time to look again at proposals that aimed to make humanitarian assistance more available across Myanmar?
