Myanmar Earthquake – update from your on-the-ground team

UPDATE FROM MYANMAR FRONT-LINE

Thursday 3 April

We would like to provide you with an update on the Earthquake in Myanmar.

As you know, this disaster has intensified existing challenges, deepening an already complex crisis. Myanmar people already struggle with conflict, displacement, and a collapsed economy.

Now, there is a growing shortage of food,
clean water, and medicines,
and there is a critical need for shelter.

A focus continues to be supporting the public with daily survival needs.

Health care facilities are overwhelmed due to extensive damage, with health-care workers themselves affected by the disaster.

Our teams have been deployed to Mandalay and Naypyitaw to conduct rapid assessments, and we expect their return by Friday. Teams in Naypyitaw have arrived and reported extensive devastation. Internet is unavailable in most areas.

Transportation routes, especially to Mandalay, have been severely affected, requiring detours that will extend the journey to and from Yangon.

Fortunately, existing storage and logistics capacity
in Yangon remain unaffected and operational.

This is enabling the transport of humanitarian supplies, and the authorities do appear to be facilitating customs clearances for humanitarian goods.

While authorities have indicated that rescue teams are no longer required, reports from the ground suggest that domestic rescue teams are overwhelmed.

The scale of devastation makes it challenging to reach all those in need.

Staff in the government zone in Naypyitaw, as well as people in areas of Sagaing and Mandalay, have been left homeless and are sleeping in open areas, on the streets, sports fields, and even along the Mandalay Moat.

With the excessive heat of March and April,
children and the elderly are vulnerable to heat stroke.

Yesterday in Yangon, a piece of concrete siding tumbled from an upper balcony of our building, a stark reminder the earthquake’s impact will linger for months to come.

(Myanmar staff prefer to work in the office, where a generator provides a lifeline amidst widespread internet and electricity outages.)

Luckily there were no injuries, and the security of the building has been checked. 

The people of Myanmar need our help more than ever.

That’s why, despite the challenges, our commitment to coordinating a response for the earthquake-affected people in upper Myanmar remains unwavering.

Thank you once again for your unwavering support.

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