From Mandalay to Inle Lake, lack of earthquake aid is leaving residents in the lurch

One month after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar, tens of thousands of people in hard-hit cities, towns and villages are still struggling to recover, local relief volunteers told Myanmar Now this week. Several volunteers say the military regime’s sluggish and inadequate response to last month’s earthquake has forced survivors in central Myanmar and southern Shan State to depend largely on local social welfare groups for aid. “So far, we haven’t seen any support from the military regime,” a man from Mandalay told Myanmar Now. “The recovery efforts are being carried out by volunteers and young people who are doing all they can to help.” In Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, the struggle to clear debris and rubble has stalled business recovery, keeping daily life far from normal. “Damaged buildings are still scattered across the city, and there’s no clear plan in place to demolish and clear them,” a woman from Mandalay told Myanmar Now. “Some of these tilted structures are extremely dangerous, yet they remain untouched. While some demolitions are being handled by charity groups, others require residents to pay between 10 million kyat (US $2,270) and 20 million kyat ($4,550) for demolition.” At the same time, Mandalay residents are facing ongoing safety risks as local authorities are unable to carry out swift demolition operations for buildings damaged by the disaster. “Our building will be demolished with the assistance from the Mandalay City Development Committee, but the demolition is scheduled for 2026,” a man from Mandalay said. A Mandalay-based relief group told Myanmar Now it has provided rent assistance to more than 30 people displaced by the quake, as temporary shelters prepare to close by month’s end and many residents remain unable to return home—especially as aftershocks continue to rattle the city. “Our team is working with local donors to provide six months to a year’s worth of rent for people who need it. We do not receive any aid from local authorities,” a volunteer from Mandalay said. Some residents have relocated to Pyin Oo Lwin, roughly 40 miles east of Mandalay, while others have rented houses within the quake-hit city, having lost hope of rebuilding their homes or their lives. “They keep coming to gather data, but there’s no effective support, whether food or financial aid,” a man from Mandalay said. “What people really want to know is what kind of long-term support they [the regime] are planning to provide.” Much of Mandalay remains in ruins a month after the March 28 earthquake (Photo: Myanmar Now) ‘Stepped-up’ efforts According to state-media reports, the junta is stepping up its efforts for early recovery, allocating 60 billion kyat ($13.6 million) for Mandalay Region, 50 billion kyat ($11.4 million) for Sagaing Region, five billion kyat ($1.14 million) for Shan State, and 10 billion kyat ($2.28 million) for the Naypyitaw Union Territory. The junta-run Ministry of Information reported on Tuesday that 1.5 million kyat ($340) has so far been provided to the families of 2,151 individuals killed by the quake. In addition, the regime claimed that it had distributed more than 7.26 billion kyat ($1.65 million) in food relief to 137,081 people in Mandalay Region over the past month. Local sources from earthquake-devastated parts of Sagaing Region raised concerns about the slow and inadequate recovery efforts in their areas, saying they couldn’t rebuild on their own without support from the authorities. “We can’t handle this on our own. It can only be done with support from the state,” said a monk from a monastery in the town of Sagaing, located just across the Ayeyarwady River from Mandalay. “Sadly, there’s no help from the state yet. We have to submit paperwork to multiple departments just to demolish damaged buildings. It’s very difficult for us.” Nearly 90 percent of the town’s infrastructure was damaged, and at least 2,000 religious buildings, including monasteries and nunneries on the Sagaing Hill and Min Wun Hill, were also affected by the devastating earthquake on March 28. Due to the regime’s inadequate recovery assistance, many residents of Thea Taw, a small town in southern Mandalay Region’s Wundwin Township, say they are also still struggling with post-quake demolition and debris removal. “Those who are able to clear the debris have done so, but no one can rebuild. No one has the strength to start it again, leaving the ground vacant,” said a volunteer from Thea Taw. “It costs 200,000 kyat ($45) per hour to use a backhoe, and it takes nearly two days to demolish a single house. Removing the debris with a dump truck costs 30,000 kyat ($6.80) per load,” he added.The earthquake killed at least 13 people and damaged 225 houses in Thea Taw, which is located roughly 83 miles south of Mandalay. Collapsed houses in southern Shan State’s Nyaung Shwe Township after the March 28 earthquake (Photo: Human Rights of Inle Region / Facebook) No sign of a plan So far, local residents told Myanmar Now, they haven’t seen any effective relief or recovery plan from the local authorities and are still working on their own to clear the massive piles of debris a month after the earthquake. “The military regime hasn’t provided any help to demolish the damaged buildings. They’ve only distributed around 11kg of rice per household. And not everyone received that. They only gave rice and some dry goods to those whose houses were severely damaged,” said one Thea Taw resident. Many residents are staying in makeshift shelters in their yards, while others are staying with relatives, as the regime has not provided any sort of temporary accommodation, the resident added. The lack of heavy machinery and soaring price of construction materials are also hindering reconstruction efforts in Thea Taw, said another resident. “Our town is far from receiving help. Many businesses, including weaving workshops, were damaged, and have stopped operations. So many workers have lost their daily income,” said a local man. Residents of quake-affected villages near Inle Lake, a popular tourist hotspot in southern Shan State, are also facing the same hardships, as they haven’t been able to rebuild their houses due to the regime’s slow recovery effort, local volunteers claimed. “We have only been able to build three bamboo houses in our village. Many people are staying in makeshift tarpaulin huts on the man-made floating islands,” a volunteer from Nyaung Shwe Township said. Despite widespread destruction affecting more than 2,000 homes around Inle Lake, the junta has limited its aid to those whose houses were completely destroyed, leaving many others without support. “They only provided one sack of rice per household for 81 families in our village. Another 71 families, whose houses were only partially damaged, received nothing,” a man from the village of Tha Le U Inn said. Although some elderly residents received assistance from local charitable groups to rebuild their homes, many others continue to struggle to recover without support from the military regime, according to local volunteers. “What we really need is money, building materials, and workers. If we get that kind of support, I think the reconstruction will be finished much faster.”

From Mandalay to Inle Lake, lack of earthquake aid is leaving residents in the lurch

Many who lost their homes to the deadly earthquake that struck central Myanmar one month ago say they have received little to no aid from the military regime

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