DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal

At 12:50pm local time on Friday the 28th of March, Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake - the strongest earthquake to hit the country in decades. The epicentre was near the city of Sagaing, and close to Myanmar’s second largest city Mandalay. Minutes later, a second earthquake struck, and was followed by more aftershocks.

Vital infrastructure, roads and buildings across the region have been destroyed, with the tremors so strong that areas hundreds of miles away in neighbouring Thailand and China were also impacted.

Millions of people in Myanmar have been affected, with many left without access to safe shelter, food, clean water and medical care. More than 2,800 are confirmed to have died, with the death toll expected to rise. Hundreds more are trapped beneath the rubble, with rescue services unable to reach them. Families are sleeping outside in fear of further aftershocks.

People in Myanmar were already facing a severe humanitarian crisis, with more than 19 million people – over a third of the population - in need of aid. One in four people already did not have enough to eat.

Now the situation is even more critical. Myanmar’s military leadership have declared a state of emergency and made a rare request for international humanitarian aid.

With roads, network and power lines destroyed, aid agencies are facing a race against time to reach people in need.

Despite the many challenges, DEC charities have worked in Myanmar for decades and have a strong local partner base, rooted in the affected communities and able to rapidly respond.

The full scale of the earthquake’s impact will take time to emerge. Access for journalists to report from inside Myanmar is very limited, and communication services have been severely impacted. But already it’s clear that the needs are immense.

More funds will allow DEC charities to save more lives. Please donate now.

The UK Government will match pound-for-pound up to £5 million donated by the UK public to this appeal