Massive Earthquake Strikes Myanmar: Over 1,600 Confirmed Dead

MANDALAY, Myanmar (AP) — A catastrophic earthquake struck Myanmar on Friday, March 28, 2025, claiming the lives of more than 1,600 individuals and burying countless others beneath rubble. The 7.7 magnitude quake, with its epicenter near Mandalay, caused extensive damage, leading to significant infrastructure collapse, particularly in the country’s second-largest city.

Rescue crews began arriving on the scene on Sunday, March 30, but operations have been severely hindered due to damaged roads, collapsed bridges, and limited communication capabilities amid ongoing civil unrest. Local residents, relying primarily on manual efforts without heavy machinery, continue to dig through debris in search of survivors, facing extreme temperatures reaching 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit).

A 5.1 magnitude aftershock rattled the region on Sunday afternoon, further alarming residents. Many of Mandalay’s 1.5 million inhabitants chose to spend the night outside, either due to homelessness from the quake or fear of aftershocks compromising already unstable structures. To date, some 1,644 casualties have been recorded, with an additional 3,408 reported injuries, although many regions remain inaccessible.

“It’s mainly been local volunteers who are just trying to find their loved ones,” said Cara Bragg, the Yangon-based manager of Catholic Relief Services. She noted that while some international search and rescue teams are en route, local hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, facing shortages of medical supplies, food, and clean water.

Relief efforts are complicated by the damaged Mandalay airport, which has halted all commercial flights. Official assistance in the capital Naypyitaw has focused on government operations, leaving local organizations to sift through residential areas without adequate resources.

Amidst the chaos, a rescue team from China successfully retrieved an elderly man who had been trapped under a hospital’s rubble for nearly 40 hours, though many more remain missing. The earthquake struck a 200-kilometer (125-mile) section of the Sagaing Fault, a well-known seismic line that has historically caused significant geological disturbances.

Rescue operations have drawn international support, with Indian military aircraft delivering a medical team and supplies to assist injured patients. A 17-truck convoy from China, carrying critical supplies, is also en route to Mandalay after a challenging 14-hour journey.

The United Nations reported severe disruptions to health facilities and underscored the urgent need for medical supplies, warning that many regions remain without contact. Humanitarian support is needed as more than 3 million people are already displaced due to ongoing conflicts, which exacerbates current response efforts.

Ongoing military activities and government instability have made the situation dire for the affected regions, prompting calls for a ceasefire. Tom Andrews, a U.N. human rights watchdog, emphasized that aid workers must be able to operate freely and without fear of reprisal to effectively assist the affected populations.

“Every minute counts,” he said, as the race against time intensifies to locate potential survivors in the wake of this devastating disaster.