UNICEF Myanmar Earthquake Flash Update No. 13

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

Seven weeks on from the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on 28 March, central Myanmar remains in crisis as early monsoon rains and soaring temperatures compound the earthquake related destruction. The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has now recorded over 175 aftershocks—including tremors near Nay Pyi Taw and Wundwin—while official figures report 3,723 deaths, 5,104 injuries and 84 people missing. 6.3 million people—almost 2 million of them children—across 58 townships urgently require life-saving assistance.

Displaced families continue to shelter in overcrowded makeshift settlements, with more than 50,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Health and nutrition services are stretched to breaking point: over 300 healthcare facilities have been damaged or destroyed1 , staff shortages persist, and lingering insecurity hampers outreach. Many households lack access to clean water, adequate sanitation and basic health care despite continued efforts to scale up access to service provision.

Education has been severely disrupted. More than 2,500 schools were damaged or destroyed, 2 displacing tens of thousands of learners and teachers. Pressure is mounting to vacate makeshift shelters in schools ahead of the June term, while partners race to repair classrooms, distribute education kits to children, and establish temporary learning spaces.

Protection risks have deepened. Overcrowding, loss of livelihoods and psychological trauma are driving negative coping mechanisms—child labour, unsafe migration, family separation and gender-based violence. As per the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, in many locations, shelters lack basic safety features such as locks, lighting, and secure entrances further heightening protection risks. Reports of gender-based violence (GBV), including sexual exploitation and abuse, are rising—particularly in displacement sites, during nighttime hours.3

With the monsoon season commencing soon, the immediate scale-up of emergency shelter repairs, sustainable WASH infrastructure, health and nutrition services, child protection (including family tracing and psychosocial support) and mine-risk education is essential to prevent further displacement, disease outbreaks, and protection violations.