As of Sunday night, 30 March, more than 1,700 people were confirmed dead but estimates say the death toll could exceed 10,000.
The tremor with an epicentre near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city, wreaked havoc on infrastructure, with buildings, bridges, and roads collapsing.
The most affected areas including Mandalay and Sagaing, saw entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble, leaving thousands homeless, injured, or trapped under debris.
Over 150 religious buildings — monasteries, pagodas, mosques, and churches — have been damaged or destroyed. Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay told Sir agency there is virtually no church or building in the Archdiocese that has not suffered significant damage.
Hundreds Muslims were killed in mosques as they celebrated the last Friday of Ramadan and thousands of Buddhists were hit by pagodas and temples which the earthquake tore through, when the earthquake struck. Many Christians were also injured or killed as churches and chapels collapsed.
International assisistance
The earthquake is believed to be the most catastrophic natural disaster Myanmar has experienced in nearly two centuries and comes on top of four years of civil war between the ruling military junta that took over in 2021 and rebel groups fighting it .
The scale of the disaster has prompted the military government to make a rare plea for international assistance. The United Nations has responded by allocating an initial US$5 million to enable emergency responses. The European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia said they would provide immediate multi-million-dollar packages as aid agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Caritas Internationalis, launched a centralized appeal.
Logistical challenges
Despite these efforts, logistical challenges remain immense. Many regions still lack access to basic necessities like clean water, electricity, and internet services. Concerns have also been raised about the condition of Myanmar’s UNESCO-listed temples in Bagan and the safety of the country's major oil and gas pipeline to China. Reports from these areas remain scarce, adding to uncertainty about the full extent of the damage.
