Survivors of last week’s deadly earthquake in Myanmar are facing a deepening humanitarian crisis, with limited rescue efforts and dwindling resources prompting urgent calls for greater assistance from neighboring countries.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay and surrounding areas on Friday, toppling buildings and leaving thousands homeless. The full extent of the disaster remains unclear due to access restrictions and limited rescue operations, but local officials have reported at least 2,886 deaths.
Nan Sin Hein, 41, has been waiting outside a collapsed five-story building in Mandalay, where her 21-year-old son Sai Han Pha remains trapped along with four other workers. With no visible rescue efforts underway five days after the quake, she said she is desperate for help.
Myanmar’s military-led government, which has faced international isolation since a 2021 coup, has made a rare appeal for foreign assistance. However, strained relations with Western nations have left the response largely limited to a handful of countries, including India, China and Russia.
The ongoing civil conflict in Myanmar has severely hampered relief efforts. Security forces are stretched thin, and local responders are left with little equipment to conduct search-and-rescue missions. In several neighborhoods, including central Mandalay, residents have been forced to retrieve the bodies of loved ones using rudimentary tools.
At the U Hla Thein Buddhist academy, Indian disaster response teams are leading efforts to search for survivors in a collapsed structure where dozens of monks were taking an exam at the time of the quake. Rescuers are battling extreme heat, working through 40C temperatures with limited manpower and machinery.
Hospitals in Mandalay are overwhelmed, with patients being treated outdoors due to structural damage. Supplies are low and medical staff are scarce, forcing families to care for injured relatives themselves.
Open spaces and streets have turned into makeshift camps as residents sleep outside amid ongoing aftershocks and fears of further collapse. Many survivors, like 72-year-old Daw Khin Saw Myint, say they have received little to no aid, and some are living next to garbage dumps.
Despite its limited capacity, the military government has restricted international media access, leaving coverage and information scarce. The full human toll of the disaster may never be known.
Aid groups and neighboring nations are being urged to step up their support as time runs out to locate survivors and deliver crucial aid. With Myanmar’s political turmoil complicating international coordination, the need for immediate and expanded regional cooperation is growing increasingly urgent.