OCHA Myanmar: Earthquake Response Situation Report No. 2

HIGHLIGHTS

• The earthquakes in Myanmar on 28 March have pushed 2 million people into critical need of assistance and protection, intensifying already severe needs in a country that had nearly 20 million people in need of aid before the disaster.
• Urgent needs include emergency shelter, food, cash assistance, safe drinking water and water sources for domestic use, healthcare, and sanitation support. The earthquake exposed and shifted unexploded ordnance, significantly increasing the risks for affected communities.
• The United Nations and its humanitarian partners are providing medical care, shelter, clean water, sanitation support, and food in the affected areas – working closely with local organizations to reach those in need.
• On 11 April the UN and partners launched a $275 million addendum to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan to reach 1.1 million earthquake-affected people with urgent aid.
• The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated an additional $5 million to the earthquake response, in addition to the $5 million already provided

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Just over two weeks since the devastating earthquakes struck central Myanmar, the humanitarian response continues to ramp up with emergency assistance and ongoing needs assessments. The earthquakes have pushed 2 million people into critical need of assistance and protection – this is in addition to the 19.9 million people who were estimated to be in need of assistance prior to the disaster. According to the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), 3,600 people have died, 4,800 have been injured and 141 remain missing nationwide. Initial rapid needs assessments have been completed in 40 townships across 7 states and regions, including Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory. Among the more than 857,000 people assessed in both urban and rural areas, urgent needs include cash assistance, emergency shelter, food, safe drinking water and water sources for domestic use, healthcare, and sanitation support. At the time of data gathering, forty-four per cent of those assessed had yet to receive some form of assistance.

Access to essential services has been decimated. People in the hardest-hit areas face tremendous challenges to access electricity or clean water, while phone and internet access remains severely disrupted due to the destruction. The state-run media reported that more than 6,730 telecommunications stations across the country have been damaged by the earthquakes.

In addition to the physical destruction to homes and public infrastructure, the earthquakes have had a psychological impact on people in affected areas. Levels of distress among earthquake-affected families, particularly for children, have heightened. Many people continue to feel unsafe due to ongoing aftershocks. High levels of emotional exhaustion, grief and fear have been reported as common reactions, especially among those who have lost family members or remain in unsafe housing and crowded living conditions. In addition, communities in conflict-affected areas are facing the further risk of unexploded ordnance that have been exposed due to the earthquakes.

The UN and its humanitarian partners rapidly mobilized to provide emergency assistance, working closely with local responders and communities to provide shelter, medical care, clean water, sanitation support and food. Local authorities have provided cash assistance to affected people in Sagaing Township. To guide the response to earthquake-affected communities, the UN and partners launched a $275 million addendum to the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) on 11 April to reach 1.1 million people with urgent aid. To further strengthen efforts on the ground, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund has allocated an additional $5 million to the earthquake response, in addition to the $5 million already provided.