Myanmar, under the open sky: Surviving after the earthquakes

Two powerful earthquakes hit central Myanmar on 28 March 2025, destroying thousands of homes and reducing hospitals, schools and other essential infrastructure to rubble. Weeks later, millions of people are still struggling to adapt to their new reality: living in makeshift shelters that expose them to scorching heatwaves, early rains and alarming protection risks. 

Here are some of their stories.

“Just having a home would be enough for me.”

The earthquakes ignited a fire that decimated Daw Htar Ei’s neighbourhood in Mandalay Region. The 73-year-old grandmother lost everything she owned, including her fruit stall. 

Even before the disaster, life was not easy for Daw Htar Ei; she struggled with diabetes and walked with difficulty. She and her family now live in a small roadside makeshift shelter, held together with tarpaulin, scraps of blankets and any other materials they could salvage.

With a look of despair, she says: "I've never seen misery like this in all my life.”

Even before the earthquakes, Myanmar was facing a spiraling humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 19.9 million people in need of assistance. The disaster exacerbated these severe needs but also left an additional 2 million people in urgent need of assistance and protection.

A makeshift tent in the charred remains of a ward in Mandalay Region, destroyed by a fire that broke out during the earthquakes. Photo: OCHA/Myaa Aung Thein Kyaw

“I want to go back to school and become a doctor one day.”

Nay Nay, 12, lived with her grandmother, Daw Nyunt Yi, in Sagaing Region. But their earthquake-damaged home is no longer safe, forcing them to seek shelter in a camp for displaced people.

Daw Nyunt Yi, 64, is the sole caregiver for several grandchildren. Even before the disaster, she could not afford Nay Nay’s school fees. 

"She studied only up to grade two [age 7]," Daw Nyunt Yi says. "Now she just helps with chores and learns to make a living." 

Nay Nay gazes at her new surroundings as though the world has drained the fight from her, with only a distant hope of one day returning to school.

She is now one of countless vulnerable children with no safe place to learn, as the earthquakes damaged or destroyed more than 2,500 schools across Myanmar.

People sheltering in Mandalay following the earthquakes. Photo: OCHA/Myaa Aung Thein Kyaw

“When the wind blows or the rain comes, I pray.”

Daw May Than, 78, was working as a street vendor when the earthquakes struck. When a neighbouring building collapsed, it also destroyed her home. Now she lives in a camp for displaced people, surrounded by the dangers of outdoor living in Mandalay Region, such as scorpions and snakes. 

She survives on donated rice and mourns the life she lost.

Aftershocks continue to shake the hardest-hit regions, compounding the fear and instability for displaced families.

“Everything disappeared in seconds.”

Ma Kaythi, 33, lost her house when the building next door collapsed. Now living alone in a tent, she faces the harsh elements with no way to rebuild her life. She used to be a street vendor, but everything she sold lies in ruins. 

Afraid and alone, she says: “I just want to live in my own house again.”

A locally led response

The threats of outdoor living in Mandalay Region are now compounded by other difficulties. Safe water is scarce, latrines are damaged, health services are disrupted and the monsoon season is imminent, raising the risk of diseases and a health crisis. Millions of people – particularly women, children and marginalized communities – are now exposed to greater risks.

In response, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations are working with local organizations to relentlessly deliver life-saving assistance to people who need it the most. At least 600,000 people have been reached with life-saving support, including water, sanitation and hygiene. Nearly half a million people received food assistance, and at least 117,000 people received emergency shelter and essential supplies, offering a vital foundation to rebuild their lives.

But much more is needed. More than 6.3 million people urgently need support in the most-affected areas. 

The humanitarian response in Myanmar is persistently underfunded – with dire consequences. The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) was less than 40 per cent funded, meaning partners were unable to fully provide the assistance that was planned. 

This year, the situation is even more bleak. As of early May, less than 8 per cent of the US$1.14 billion required for the 2025 HNRP had been received, and only $44 million (16 per cent) of the $275.2 million requested for the Earthquake Flash Addendum had been disbursed.

Amid the wreckage of the earthquakes, the voices of survivors like Daw Htar Ei, Daw May Than, Ma Kaythi, Ma Nilar and Daw Nyunt Yi ring with resilience, yet their path to recovery is uncertain. They and millions more people across Myanmar urgently need support to rebuild their lives. Humanitarians are in Mandalay Region, ready to deliver, but they need more resources and sustained access to all affected communities to scale up the response and ensure needs do not escalate.

*This article was originally published on the UNOCHA website.