Myanmar earthquake

The powerful earthquake and its aftershocks have piled further suffering on millions of people in Myanmar already reeling from four years of conflict and displacement. 

The quake-hit areas are home to almost half of the 3. million internally displaced people across the country. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, continues to advocate for unimpeded humanitarian access to help these communities in need of urgent assistance.

Rescue efforts remain focused on Mandalay and the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, believed to be the hardest-hit cities, though many other areas have also sustained damage, with limited information available due in part to damage to telecommunications and electricity infrastructure. 

What is UNHCR doing to help?

At the request of the relevant authorities and in coordination with the UN Humanitarian Country Team and partners, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has mobilized protection services and emergency assistance to support the humanitarian response for all those affected by the earthquake, including forcibly displaced people.

In the first days after the quake, UNHCR sent emergency supplies from Yangon for some 25,000 survivors in the Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw areas, while mobilizing more relief items from existing stocks in other parts of Myanmar, including plastic sheets, sleeping mats, blankets, kitchen sets and mosquito nets.

Our teams are identifying critical needs in the worst-affected areas of Mandalay, Magway and Sagaing Regions as part of a UN inter-agency rapid needs assessment. The most urgent requirement is to deploy further shelter and relief items to the affected areas. It is also essential to monitor risks around explosive ordnance, family separation, child protection and gender-based violence. UNHCR is in touch with the affected communities on safety issues and the provision of emergency aid.