The first tremors hit at 11:47 p.m. when most residents of Mandalay — the second largest city in Myanmar — were asleep. Concrete apartment blocks that had housed generations of families began swaying like reeds in the wind. Within seconds, the violent shaking sent entire facades crashing into streets, burying parked motorcycles and food stalls under tons of debris. At the Yankin Children’s Hospital, nurses grabbed newborns from incubators as ceiling tiles rained down around them.
This was no ordinary disaster — the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar on March 28, 2025, has become the ultimate test of a nation already broken by three years of civil war and military dictatorship. Myanmar’s inadequate disaster preparation and internal instability were crucial factors that aggravated the catastrophe. While the ground was still trembling with aftershocks of the earthquake, a different kind of devastation unfolded: military jets bombed affected villages in Sagaing Region while rescue teams tried to reach survivors. Both natural disasters and unstable internal politics in Myanmar, with existing infrastructure deficiencies and ongoing conflict, have compounded the earthquake’s humanitarian devastation.
While the geology of Mandalay was one factor that intensified the earthquake’s damage, it was the government’s neglect of local infrastructure that inevitably led to the large scale of destruction. Years of careless rule and neglect from a corrupted government left Myanmar weak and vulnerable to natural disasters. In 2023, a report by the World Bank warned that less than 15 percent of Myanmar’s urban structures met basic earthquake resilience standards. When buildings in Mandalay, after decades of mismanagement and corruption, as supposedly modern buildings collapsed into rubble, the consequences became horrifyingly visible where 80 percent of buildings sustained damage from the earthquake.
But it was not only poor infrastructure that put Myanmar at increased risk. Since the military coup in 2021, Myanmar has been embroiled in a brutal conflict between the ruling junta and various opposition groups, including the National Unity Government (NUG) and numerous ethnic militias. The natural disaster only intensified these divisions, as both sides began to vie for control over affected regions and aid supplies. In the immediate aftermath, the NUG declared a two-week unilateral ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance and allow rescue operations to proceed unimpeded. This gesture aimed to prioritize the well-being of civilians and demonstrate a commitment to humanitarian principles. However, reports emerged that the military junta, the military group ruling Myanmar by force, continued its aggressive campaigns, including aerial bombardments in resistance-held areas, even targeting civilians fleeing the earthquake’s devastation.
Such attacks have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid in the wake of the earthquake. The World Health Organization (WHO), for instance, which dispatched nearly three tons of medical supplies to hospitals in the hardest-hit areas of Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay, was unable to access affected regions due to damaged infrastructure, ongoing military operations, and bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the junta. As a result, the three tons of aid from the WHO were kept in storage by the military for five days and countless lives were lost. There are countless examples like this. UN reports have confirmed that there are over 12 instances where the junta ordered military-established aid centers to redirect medical supplies to military bases instead of civilians Many fear the junta seizing aid and using it as political leverage to establish control.
The earthquake’s impact extends far beyond collapsed buildings. It has exposed the reality between military rule and basic human security, proving that a regime will inevitably weaponize disaster response to consolidate power. As reconstruction begins, a process experts estimate will require 2.3 billion dollars and at least a decade to complete, the international community faces difficult questions. The rubble of Mandalay’s neighborhoods stands as both a memorial and a warning: without political change, future earthquakes will yield similarly severe consequences.
Simba Xiong is a Junior from Beijing China. Contact the authro at xxiong28@andover.edu
