MYANMAR (SBDR) – A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar at around 1:20 p.m. on March 28. It was recorded in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region, but initial reports indicate widespread damage in Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw, with homes, religious sites, and cultural property among the impacted sites. Sagaing is home to 1.3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) – a third of all IDPs in Myanmar.
Over one month after the earthquake, officials report over 3800 fatalities, 5000 injured, and hundreds still missing.
Extreme heat and heavy rainfall have caused additional challenges for those displaced by the massive quakes.
This crisis is further exacerbated by the ongoing crisis in Myanmar caused by the ongoing armed conflicts between the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and various non-state armed groups which has led to widespread displacement and grave humanitarian conditions, with over 3.5 million people now internally displaced.
State media is reporting that the earthquake has damaged some 5,223 buildings, 1,824 schools, 4,817 pagodas and temples, 167 hospitals and clinics, 169 bridges, 198 dams and 184 sections of the country’s main highway.
Current Response:
Send Relief has been in continuous contact with national partners and launched five response projects to meet the immediate needs of the thousands impacted by this level three crisis.
Send Relief teams have responded in Myanmar, China, and Thailand in the aftermath of the earthquake.
As of this update, Send Relief has allocated major funding for the disaster response in Myanmar and Thailand and the allocations are projected to help almost 113,000 survivors.
Thailand: Send Relief Crisis Response Project responded in Thailand to provide food packets, rice, clean drinking water, flashlights, bags, tents, blankets, and clothing. This project is directly benefiting over 1,000 individuals and positively impacting more than 10,000 people in the region.
Myanmar: Send Relief responded with multiple crisis response projects that have set up hubs of compassion, meeting urgent physical needs while reminding the community they are not forgotten. These compassion hubs are providing:
- Hot Meals Daily – nutritious home-cooked meals and food packets have been provided to affected families and individuals.
- Clean Water Access – The water in the lake has been contaminated so responding partners have worked to provide this necessity.
- Sanitation Stations – Facilities for showers and laundry have been provided.
- Basic Medicine, blankets, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, temporary shelter has been provided.
These projects are helping thousands of affected individuals and families.
Major Next Step in Response:
Responding to the long-term need for shelter in Myanmar. Shelter is a major issue in Myanmar with thousands displaced and left homeless. Send Relief is seeking to undergo a major project to provide 500 families with transitional shelter – more permanent housing than tents – like what Send Relief did in Turkey, Morocco, and Afghanistan after earthquakes. along with blankets, water containers, cooking sets, hygiene kits, and mosquito nets. This project would greatly enhance families’ abilities to survive and recover from the earthquake. The shelters and home set-up items would meet international SPHERE standards of minimum shelter for disaster survivors. Send Relief is seeking additional donations for the shelter project.
The best current way for Southern Baptists to respond is by praying and giving. At the current time, volunteers from U. S. churches or the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) network are not being requested, and entrance into Myanmar is extremely limited and restrictive for any outside responders or volunteers.
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the communities impacted by the earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand.
- Pray for first responders and emergency workers as they continue to respond with rescue efforts following the 7.7 earthquake.
- Pray for families that have lost loved ones in the deadly earthquake.
- Pray for those displaced by the earthquake, who need shelter as their homes were either destroyed or are waiting for assessment to determine if re-entry to their homes is safe.
- Pray for Send Relief and partners as they respond to the needs of the multitudes affected by this disaster.
- Pray for God to provide needed funds, favor, and direction for a Send Relief shelter project in Myanmar that will be extremely challenging but could open countless opportunities to share the hope and compassion of Christ to suffering families.
