Its military government said at least 1,600 people were killed and 3,400 injured, and by Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest earthquakes in a century.

According to state media, “All military and civilian hospitals and healthcare workers must work together in a coordinated and effective manner to ensure an effective medical response.”

The U.S. Geological Service predicted modeling estimates that Myanmar’s death toll could exceed 10,000, and losses could exceed the country’s annual economic output.

Thai authorities said the earthquake shocked parts of neighboring Thailand, lowered a shortage of skyscrapers and killed 17 people in the capital. At least 78 people were trapped under debris from collapsed buildings.

According to the United Nations, the deadliest natural disasters that have hit Myanmar in years have damaged critical infrastructure, including airports, roads and bridges, slowing humanitarian action.

“No aid, no rescuers”

Since the 2021 military coup, the civil war has escalated into a civil war, tremors have struck a country that expelled the government of elected Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered a nationwide armed uprising.

The battle struck Myanmar’s main agricultural economy, formerly known as Myanmar, displaced 3.5 million people and left behind basic services such as health care.

The opposition National Unity Government includes remnants of the previous government, and the anti-Wu militia under its command will cease all offensive military operations within two weeks from Sunday.

“Nug, resistance, allied groups and civil society groups will carry out rescue operations,” it said in a statement.

In some popular areas of the country, residents told Reuters that so far the government has been scarce to keep people feeding themselves.

A monk took his luggage to pass the ruins of damaged buildings in Mandalay on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar. – AFP
Han Zin, a resident, said the entire town of Sagaing near the epicenter of the earthquake was damaged.

“What we’re seeing here is extensive destruction – many buildings have collapsed,” he said, adding that much of the town has been powered since the disaster strikes and drinking water runs out.

“We have not received any assistance and we cannot see the rescuers.”

A rescuer said in the Irrawaddy River throughout Mandalay that most of the operations in the country’s second-largest city were carried out by small, self-organized residents who lacked the equipment needed.

“We’ve been approaching collapsed buildings, but some of the structures are still unstable when we work,” he said.

On-site hospital

Another humanitarian worker and two residents said dozens of people were worried about being trapped under a collapsed building in Mandalay, but most people were unable to reach or withdraw without heavy machinery.

“People are still trapped in buildings and they can’t take people out,” said one resident who asked not to be named.

The United Nations Office for Coordinating Humanitarian Affairs said hospitals in parts of central and northwestern Myanmar are working to cope with the influx of injured people.

India, China and Thailand are neighbors sending relief materials and teams, as well as aid and personnel from Malaysia, Singapore and Russia.

Indian military aircraft conducted various forms to Myanmar on Saturday, including ferry supplies and search and rescue personnel Naypyitaw, the capital of the destination, part of which has been damaged by an earthquake.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said Indian troops will help establish a field hospital on Mandalay Island, with two naval vessels carrying supplies heading to Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial capital.

China said on social media at the Myanmar embassy that multiple Chinese rescue workers have arrived, including one that crossed the land from its southwestern Yunnan province.

Myanmar State Media said a 78 member from Singapore from Singapore operated in Mandalay on Sunday accompanied by rescue dogs.

Myanmar faces humanitarian crisis after earthquake: IFRC

Red Cross officials said on Sunday that Myanmar faces a humanitarian crisis and that the country’s demand for aid is increasing.

“It’s not just a disaster; it’s a complex humanitarian crisis, and therefore stratified on existing vulnerabilities,” Alexander Matheou said in a statement.

“The scale of this disaster is huge and the need to support is urgent,” he added.

Foreign rescue teams arrived in Myanmar today to help poor countries cope with the disaster, Myanmar’s Red Cross said volunteers are managing first aid and distributing items such as blankets, tarps and sanitation tools.

“The destruction is broad and humanitarian demand grows in an hour,” it said in a statement today.

The IFRC has launched an emergency appeal to CHF 100 million (US$113.6 million) to help 100,000 people get lifesaving relief and early recovery support.

The UN Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs said on Saturday that aid operations were hindered by damaged roads and hospitals in central and northwestern Myanmar are struggling to cope with the influx of injured people in the earthquake.