It has been one month since a devastating earthquake struck central Myanmar, leaving over 5,000 confirmed dead and many more still missing. Though the tremor was felt across the region, global attention quickly faded. For those within Myanmar, however, the devastation will last for years. What could have sparked global solidarity has instead become yet another site of suffering in a country already gripped by crisis, not only from the quake itself, but from a military regime that is obstructing aid and turning tragedy into strategy.
A Disaster in the Middle of a War
The earthquake hit at the worst possible time. Myanmar has been locked in civil war since the military coup of 2021, with resistance groups fighting for freedom. Even before the disaster, more than 3.5 million people were already displaced, and nearly a third of the population depended on humanitarian assistance. That aid was already tightly controlled by the junta, with many areas completely cut off due to military restrictions and ongoing violence.
Now, the earthquake has caused massive damage across the Mandalay and Sagaing Regions — including large areas freed from military occupation — as well as in Naypyitaw, the military capital. Homes, hospitals, schools, and religious sites have collapsed. Some of the worst-hit communities were observing the last days of Ramadan when mosques, already weakened by years of government bans on repairs to Muslim sites, crumbled. In one heartbreaking case, a student’s father survived the collapse of a mosque during prayer — only to watch his two grandsons, the student’s nephews, die beside him.
While the earthquake has deepened the country’s humanitarian crisis and further overwhelmed its fragile infrastructure, it has done little to shift the entrenched dynamics of the ongoing conflict.
Hospitals Overwhelmed, Rescue Efforts Blocked
Survivors are sleeping in the streets without electricity, clean water, or medical care. Public hospitals are overflowing, while private clinics have shut down amid the junta’s persecution of doctors involved in the civil disobedience movement. One survivor, according to local sources, was pulled from the rubble but died the next day — not from her injuries, but because no doctor could be found to treat her.
Rescue operations are slow and scattered, hampered by severe heat, flooding rains, and — above all — the junta’s restrictions. Curfews in the critical early days prevented much-needed round-the-clock search efforts. Equipment borrowed from private companies required special permits, even in life-or-death situations. Meanwhile, the military continued drone strikes and air assaults attacks on resistance areas, despite an alleged ceasefire.
The junta is blocking aid — and demanding it
In a rare move, the junta publicly appealed for international aid, portraying itself as a legitimate government — despite lacking control over nearly two-thirds of the country. Due to uneasy relations with the military, Western countries pledged assistance, but boots-on-the-ground support primarily came from India, China, Russia, and a few others.
Inside Myanmar, however, civil society’s message has been unequivocal: “Please do not donate to organizations connected to the military junta.” This includes many UN agencies (WFP, UNICEF, UNOCHA) as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Why? Because the junta has a long, well-documented history of weaponizing aid.
From Cyclone Nargis in 2008 to Cyclone Mocha in 2023, Myanmar’s military has consistently diverted international aid to benefit its own forces — through black-market sales, currency ma
Buried Under Rubble and Repression: Myanmar’s Earthquake Tragedy and the Fight to Get Aid In
nipulation, and selective distribution to junta-controlled areas. The same pattern is now repeating.
A few stark examples: trucks carrying Chinese Red Cross supplies were fired upon and blocked from reaching Mandalay. Rescue teams from Mon State and Kawthoolei, en route to assist, were turned back by junta troops. Rescuers attempting to enter Sagaing town — 90% of which has been destroyed — were accused of being linked to the People’s Defense Forces (PDFs). Even Taiwan’s experienced disaster relief teams were discouraged from coming, likely due to pressure from China, the junta’s key ally.
Meanwhile, aid was diverted to the military capital, Naypyitaw — specifically Zayathiri district, home to military families — despite the heaviest damage being in Mandalay and Sagaing Regions.
The alternative: support local, not the junta
There is a clear alternative. More than two hundred Myanmar civil society organizations have called on international donors to redirect disaster relief through local groups, the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic administrations, and civilian humanitarian networks. Aid is already flowing through Thailand, but it needs to be ramped up and supported with resources and political will.
Communities inside Myanmar are organizing their own rescue efforts. Volunteers are digging through debris, delivering water, and sharing what little food remains — risking their lives to do what the junta will not.
The wrong response by Myanmar’s neighbors, and the indifference of much of the world, is pushing the country toward state collapse. Every day that aid is delayed, diverted, or delivered to the wrong hands, more lives are lost.
Cover photo: People clear debris of a damaged Buddha statue at Lawkatharaphu pagoda in Inwa on the outskirts of Mandalay on April 12, 2025, following the devastating March 28 earthquake. The shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 flattened buildings across Myanmar, killing more than 3,400 people and making thousands more homeless. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)
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