Myanmar: Fighting delays flow of vital aid for quake survivors

NHK

28-05-2025

Many people in central Myanmar are struggling to survive following a devastating earthquake on March 28. Myanmar's military junta has put the death toll from the magnitude 7.7 quake at almost 3,800. But the United Nations says the real figure is likely much higher, and that the health risks for survivors have increased since the early arrival of monsoon season. The ongoing conflict between the military junta and pro-democracy forces has reduced the flow of vital aid to a mere trickle, as airstrikes continue despite the announcement of a ceasefire.
International journalists seeking to get a clear picture of the situation on the ground are not allowed to enter the affected areas ― but NHK World is communicating regularly with residents.
Myanmar's independent media reported that the military carried out an airstrike on a school on May 12, killing more than 20 children and two teachers. The attack took place in Sagaing Township, in the country's northwest. The school was managed by the National Unity Government, or NUG, which was formed by the ousted lawmakers in the military coup. The junta denies responsibility, claiming that "illegal anti-government media outlets have spread false news" through the state-run media outlets. A school in Sagaing Township lies in ruins after an airstrike by the junta. Picture supplied by an eyewitness.
The assault came about despite a second truce announced by the junta between May 6 and 31, following a separate ceasefire announced in April. A statement from the military regime claims the latest period will make it possible "to continue implementing reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the earthquake-affected areas with momentum."
The junta continues to suffer territorial losses, controlling a mere 32 percent of the country, according to a recent survey by the NUG. In the air, however, its power remains almost entirely unchallenged, an advantage it is exploiting with a campaign of airstrikes.
One local independent media outlet, Democratic Voice of Burma, reports the military launched more than 700 attacks by air and artillery strikes from the day of the quake through May 22. Military strikes across the country after the earthquake: March 28 – May 20.
Two videos supplied to NHK by a journalist in Mandalay Region after the earthquake show military aircraft bombing local villages. Weapons analyst Leone Hadavi from the international investigative organization Myanmar Witness has identified one as an FTC-2000 and the other a K-8 ― both Chinese-manufactured models, which have recently been refurbished by the Myanmar Air Force. Chinese-made military aircraft filmed by a local independent journalist in mid-April Living among the rubble
The devastating earthquakes has left millions of people struggling to cope with the aftermath.
NHK has been communicating with a male resident of Sagaing Township in the epicenter since the earthquake happened. The man, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal by the military, used to run a small business from his house, but that was all destroyed in the quake.
"All my family members survived, but seven employees in a building near the house were buried," he recounted in mid-April. He said the smell of corpses was everywhere, but eventually disappeared two weeks after the earthquake. A male resident in Sagaing Township
Videos and photos that he sent to NHK World show him and his neighbors living in tents with mosquito nets, surrounded by rubble.
Residents buy water-tanks, sharing water with each other. Electricity supplies are unstable, so people plug their chargers into a generator to use smartphones, which is a lifeline. The man said, "People are sleeping outside because there are still tremors every day." People sleep on temporary beds covered by mosquito nets in the luggage space of the car. Residents shares water, using water tanks.
"We've had massive destruction in our town, but only about 10 percent of the demolition has taken place. There are not enough people or supplies," he said.
A local NGO provided mosquito nets, mats and tents, and the World Food Programme delivered enough rice, oil and beans for two weeks. However, as there were no tools for cooking, they needed to rely on funds donated by other overseas supporters to buy kitchenware and water pumps. Kitchenware is distributed to earthquake survivors.
"We're being ignored," he said. "Pro-democracy forces appear to be in this region, so the military won't do anything for us. All the military does is launch airstrikes and kill people. I don't know what's going to happen ― or where to make a start."
At the beginning of May, the man provided an update. He said that rice provided as food aid had already gone, and when it was available at market, its cost was up by 25 percent, compared with before the earthquake. Gasoline prices have doubled ― but with so few gas stations left open people must travel to Mandalay to fill up. Taken away and forced to fight
At the end of April, a female resident in the same town reported her nephew in his 20s was taken away by soldiers to the military camp under its forcible conscription push.
A so-called lottery system to sign up men aged 18 and older has Myanmar youths facing a quandary: give in to the junta, flee, or fight back. The military continues to recruit even after the quake.
"A friend of my nephew confirmed to me by phone that he had been drafted," says the woman. "He was delivering gasoline by motorbike, but was suddenly taken by the military on a bridge." A female resident of Sagaing Township Continuing airstrikes
With aid struggling to reach the areas most in need, already traumatized civilians are increasingly desperate for help.
In mid-April, NHK reached out to a woman who lives a few hours' drive north of the epicenter in the Mandalay Region says military jets launched airstrikes on her area on April 13. A female resident in the Mandalay region
"We heard a fighter jet while we listened online to sutras," she says.
She took shelter with her husband and her elder sister, who has been suffering from the effects of a stroke for years.
"I wrapped my sister in a thick quilt, and my husband and I got under the bed. We heard bombing to the north, and then a fighter overhead. A bomb hit the house. Another landed outside." The woman salvaging household items from a destroyed house.
The woman is a tailor. One thing she salvaged is a sewing machine. But the foot pedal is broken. "I brought it because I thought I could make a living here if I could fix it," she says. However, it is obvious that she cannot have it her way. The woman showed NHK her broken sewing machine.
The woman says she, her spouse and her sister now live with relatives in another village. Her husband used to work in construction, but is unable to continue because he lost his hearing in the airstrike. So his wife is the only one who can support the family.
"I wish the international community would help us. It's not just us who are struggling. Everyone in this village is scared. We don't know when we might die." Humanitarian crisis deepens
Two months have passed since the devastating earthquakes, leaving millions of people struggling to cope. Still, aftershocks continue. The NUG announced on May 17 that an earthquake with a Richter scale 5.7 magnitude shook the Mandalay Region, with further shakes expected.
According to the UN, nearly 509,400 people were still urgently in need of food assistance as of May 17. People across Myanmar are still desperately in need of aid.
Page 2