ASIA/MYANMAR - Severe earthquake in the north of the country: "There is little or no aid"

Mandalay (Agenzia Fides) - "The tragedy is that there is little or no aid. We see so much solidarity among the people, but we note the complete absence of the state. The Sagaing area, epicenter of the earthquake, is one of the areas where clashes are most intense due to the ongoing civil war. In the general instability, there is no organized aid for the victims," said a local Fides source from the Catholic community of Mandalay, near Sagaing, where the earthquake of March 28 caused the greatest damage. "In the areas not controlled by the army, the so-called 'liberated areas,' there are no functioning civil institutions, so everything is left to the goodwill of the population or the organization of ethnic minority communities and armies," continued the Fides source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. "In the areas controlled by the junta, some fire brigades are operating in the capital, Naypyidaw, and in Mandalay, where several multi-storey buildings have collapsed. Many other areas are completely abandoned. The state is completely uninterested in its citizens, their condition, and their well-being."
Two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.7 and 6.4 on the Richter scale struck Myanmar on March 28 at 12:50 p.m. local time, with the epicenter in the Mandalay area. Dozens of people were seriously injured, and scenes of panic ensued in the streets of Mandalay, with people running to open spaces to save their lives. The tremors were also felt in neighboring Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and the adjacent Chinese region of Yunnan. Official figures on casualties and damage are not yet available. The ruling military junta has now declared a state of emergency in six regions, requested humanitarian assistance from the international community, and ordered the closure of airports in the capital, Naypyidaw, and Yangon. The colonial-era "Old Sagaing Bridge," built 91 years ago by the British Empire over the Irrawaddy River, collapsed. Several Catholic churches in Mandalay were damaged: St. Michael's Catholic Parish was the hardest hit, while 20 people were killed when a mosque collapsed in Mandalay. St. Joseph's Cathedral in the city of Taunggyi, Shan State, was also damaged. Many churches in Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Yangon, and Taunggyi suspended liturgical celebrations and asked the faithful for gestures of solidarity with those now homeless.
Earthquakes are relatively frequent in Myanmar, and in the past they have affected the Sagaing fault, which runs from north to south through the center of the country. In 2016, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake in the ancient capital Bagan caused the walls of Buddhist temples to collapse. According to experts, rapid development in Myanmar's cities, combined with outdated infrastructure and poor urban planning, has made the country's most populous areas particularly vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes. Due not least to the four-year civil war, the country has a very poor health system, especially in rural areas. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 28/3/2025)

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