THE international community’s earthquake relief support to Myanmar depicts true compassion, solidarity, and commitment to a shared future.
The disaster consisted of two
consecutive quakes: the first, a powerful 7.7-magnitude tremor, struck near
Sagaing. Within just seconds, a second quake measuring 6.9 in magnitude was
shaking with its epicentre near TadaU, Mandalay. Therefore, Mandalay, Nay Pyi
Taw and Sagaing were impacted the most devastation of the quake, where the
former two cities are economically and executively important to the country.
The National Disaster Management
Committee (NDMC) announced, as of 19 April, that a total of 65,096 residential
housings; 2,514 schools, 4,317 monasteries and nunneries; 6,027 religious sites
including pagodas, temples and stupas; 350 healthcare areas including public
hospitals and clinics; 38 locations on the rail transportation system; 269
roads; 203 sites on the Yangon-Mandalay Expressway; 586 dams and water
reservoirs, and 170 bridges across the country were damaged by the quake.
Chairman of the State Administration
Council, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, immediately requested international
aid to remedy the heavy casualties and devastation of the country amid the
quake. The call was quickly responded to by the international community.
Neighbouring countries such as China, Thailand and India; friendly nations such
as Russia and Belarus, ASEAN nations; many countries that build diplomatic
relations with Myanmar, and international organizations such as UNICEF and WHO
poured in their helping hands to Myanmar.
“Dealing with disasters typically
pushes diplomatic relations along the pathway which it was on before,”
Professor Ilan Kelman remarked concerning disaster diplomacy in an interview
with Business Insider in 2018. In this regard, many presidents, prime ministers,
military leaders, top diplomats and top leaders of many countries sent their
condolences to Myanmar day by day through various channels following the
powerful earthquake.
The very first, Russian President
Vladimir Putin stated his condolences to Myanmar in a statement published on
the Kremlin’s website, underlining his deepest condolences on the tragic
consequences of the earthquake in Sagaing and Mandalay regions and stating that
Russia shares the grief of the friendly people of Myanmar, the Russian media
reported.
Consequently, on the next day, Senior
General Min Aung Hlaing received phone calls and letters from world leaders
expressing their condolences to Myanmar. It witnessed the extensive diplomatic
activities with Myanmar in the international diplomatic realm.
What is more, as per Professor Ilan
Kelman, it is learned that: “the diplomatic efforts following such events
(disasters) can serve as a catalyst for the thawing of political and diplomatic
relations between nations,” and “the evidence from disaster diplomacy studies
suggests that disaster-related activities do not create fresh diplomatic
opportunities, but that they have the possibility for catalyzing diplomatic
action.”
On this point, the 6th Bay of Bengal
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)
Summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 2 to 4 April 2025. It marked the
first in-person meeting of BIMSTEC leaders since 2018. The Myanmar delegation,
led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, participated in the summit and related
side events. The summit focused on enhancing prosperity, resilience, and
openness for the region’s 1.7 billion people. During the meetings, BIMSTEC
leaders held a minute of silence to express their condolences for the recent
tremor that happened in Myanmar and Thailand.
During the BIMSTEC meetings, Senior
General Min Aung Hlaing extended additional requests to the international
community to reinforce resettlement operations in Myanmar for the
post-earthquake trauma. He met with the current BIMSTEC Chair, Thailand Prime Minister
Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ahead of
the BIMSTEC meetings discussed domestic situations of the socio-political
landscape, and exchanged views on disaster management.
The BIMSTEC leaders issued a joint
statement on the impact of the earthquake on 4 April. It bolsters the
solidarity of the regional bloc in supporting the mechanism of relief and
recovery efforts, including collaboration through the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather
and Climate to provide critical weather information and enhance early warning
systems in the region. The efforts of the BIMSTEC member states in providing
humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to Myanmar had been appreciated in
the bloc statement.
In addition, Prime Minister Senior
General Min Aung Hlaing met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the
rotational chair of ASEAN 2025, in Bangkok, Thailand, on 17 April. The meeting
highlighted the extensive collaboration of the bloc in the relief of Myanmar
from the earthquake disaster.
It is highly challenging for the people of
Myanmar to be resilient in this catastrophe with huge destruction unexpectedly,
in addition to the multi-sectoral hardships on social, economic and political
grounds in the meanwhile.
Worse again, hundreds of aftershocks
ranging from mild to severe with magnitudes between 3.0 and 5.5 continued
shaking the country until mid-April every day. Every aftershock reportedly
struck with a shallow depth of around 10 kilometres or below, intensifying
their impacts. During these three weeks, there was no such day on which the
aftershocks did not strike the regions alongside the Sagaing Fault, as well as
in surrounding areas near the Kyaukkyan Fault and other smaller faults in Shan
State.
Sagaing Fault: The seismic activity
of the 1,200-kilometre-long Sagaing Fault is highly active. It is responsible
for major earthquakes in Myanmar’s history, such as the Bago Earthquake with a
7.3-magnitude in 1930 and the Mandalay Earthquake with a 7.7-magnitude in 1946.
Since the fault passes through the urban area with high population density, and
it runs north-south through the country, further studies have to be conducted
later. Therefore, many external geologists and seismologists should conduct further
studies on these deadly active tectonic plates.
Over the past weeks, rescuers,
medical teams, and shipments of relief and humanitarian supplies from various
countries have been arriving in Myanmar, batch by batch. As of 17 April, rescue
workers, medical teams, Red Cross personnel, and humanitarian aid workers from
25 countries have been actively involved in rescue and resettlement operations
in Myanmar following the earthquake.
“A total of 1,956 rescuers, 2,332
tonnes of humanitarian supplies and 1,170 tonnes of relief and rescue
assistance from 25 countries have been received through 136 flights,” Maj-Gen
Zaw Min Tun shared the information with the media on 17 April.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s
immediate declaration of emergencies and request for international assistance
following the devastating tremor, which truly was part of effective disaster
management, and the spontaneous responses of the international community on
humanitarian grounds truly saved many souls and properties.
A total of 653 lives were rescued and
754 bodies were found by Myanmar Fire Brigade personnel and foreign rescuers as
of 18 April. Amongst, eight lives were saved and 203 bodies were discovered by
the foreign rescuers, according to the NDMC.
The people of Myanmar express our
deepest gratitude to every nation, humanitarian organization, and international
body that reached out to help us during our nightmare of this earthquake
disaster. Every support of the international community has touched our hearts
overwhelmingly.
In summary, the earthquake in Myanmar
on 28 March not only caused enormous suffering for the people of Myanmar, but
it was also observed blessing in disguise. The recent earthquake disaster
renewed engagement in addressing urgent humanitarian needs. The increased
international aid witnessed a true compassion of caring and sharing in the
essence of the shared future.
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar
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