Nay Pyi Taw March 28
A ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the Mandalay Earthquake was held at MICC-1 here this afternoon, addressed by Acting President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Chairman of the State Security and Peace Commission, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who presented honorary medals to internal and external organizations in recognition of their participation in earthquake response undertakings.
Also present at the ceremony were SSPC Vice Chairman Vice-Senior General Soe Win, SSPC member Prime Minister U Nyo Saw, Executive Chief U Aung Lin Dway, SSPC Secretary General Ye Win Oo, SSPC members, union level dignitaries and union mini-sters, senior military officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, the Nay Pyi Taw Command commander, deputy ministers, ambassadors, representatives and military attaches of the countries/organizations that took part in providing search and rescue operations, health-care and aids amidst the loss and destruction caused by the earthquake, officials of Tatmadaw, Myanmar Police Force, fire services, and developer organizations that took part in earth response undertakings, depart-mental personnel, ministry officials, officials of UN and INGOs, well-wishers who made donations for search and rescue operations and reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.
First, a one-minute silence was observed in recognition and sympathy and as a show of paying tribute with a bow for the loss of life and property caused by the massive Mandalay earthquake that jolted on 28 March 2025.
In his address, the Senior General stated that the ceremony was held to commemorate the sorrows of those who lost lives and property during the massive magnitude 7.7 earthquake that jolted Mandalay a year ago on 28 March 2025, as well as to high-light ongoing rehabilitation activities.
A total of 3,818 persons died across ten regions and states; five went missing, 5,104 were wounded, and 162,563 households (or 424,063 persons) were affect-ed. Additionally, 279,111 people were temporarily displaced, with total losses exceeding Ks-7,979 billion. The earthquake serves as a hard-earned lesson for Myanmar, as the state faced immense losses, and the social and economic suffering of individuals and families was severe.
The Senior General noted that soon after the quake struck, he surveyed the affected areas and witnessed a great deal of destruction. In this regard, a state of emergency was declared immediately in the earthquake-hit areas of Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Magway Region, Shan State, Nay Pyi Taw Council Area, and Bago Region, while search, rescue, and relief aid were invited from both internal and external sources.
Consequently, humanitarian assistance from domestic and international donors arrived continuously by sea, land, and air. A total of 2,661.321 tons of aid arrived from the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, India, Belarus, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, organizations in Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UAE, Venezuela, Vietnam, and
associations such as the AHA Centre. The government dis-patched all aid to the affected areas in a timely manner.
Prefabricated offices and houses, fuel for response activities, emergency surgical theaters, and medicines donated by the PRC were also systematically distributed.
A total of 1,935 rescuers and 845 healthcare professionals and physicians from 25 countries worked in the affected areas. Alongside international teams, members of the Myanmar Fire Services Department, the Myanmar Police Force, the Tatmadaw, Red Cross members, and social organizations carried out energetic and daring operations, saving the lives of 653 people trapped inside collapsed buildings.
The loving-kindness, goodwill, courage, unity, and perseverance demonstrated by the people during relief operations stand as the country’s greatest and most honorable national assets. The Senior General expressed his pride in those who showed courage and endurance to survive amidst life-threatening conditions. On behalf of the State and the survivors, he thanked the international teams and local personnel for conducting rescue operations at the risk of their own lives.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was opened on the evening of 28 March 2025 and has been carrying out emergency response and rehabilitation activities day and night with full effort. The State has prioritized the rescue of trapped persons, the provision of shelter before the monsoon, the fulfillment of basic needs, and the restoration of communication, electricity, water, and healthcare services.
He stated that the state pro-vided support to the families of those deceased in the Mandalay earthquake at a rate of Ks-1 million per person, while also providing over Ks-1,600 billion in cash and construction materials for the injured and for damaged public housing. Additionally, over Ks-3,421.957 billion was provided from the National Disaster Management Fund for the renovation and reconstruction of religious buildings, government offices, staff housing, education and health infrastructure, and religious and cultural heritage sites.
He also stated that the state is implementing short-term and long-term plans for rehabilitation tasks, prioritizing recovery efforts that result in better conditions than before and ensuring that no one is left behind. Accordingly, a guiding foundation was established to operate based on three strategic pillars: humanitarian assistance and social protection, the reconstruction of infrastructure, and the revitalization of the economy along with resilient and inclusive reforms.
Meanwhile, a review and discussion forum on the recovery and rehabilitation of the Myanmar economy following the earthquake was held. The forum identified and discussed methods and opportunities to help businesses impacted by the major Mandalay earthquake recover and revitalize.
Regarding reconstruction efforts, investigations revealed that most fatalities caused by the earthquake resulted from the collapse of buildings that did not comply with engineering specifications and construction regulations. Consequently, policies have been established to ensure that future buildings are constructed to withstand up to a magnitude 8 earthquake. It is necessary to strictly follow these policies to ensure that buildings, roads, and bridges are better than the original structures and to develop cities that are even more advanced than they are today.
He added that to create and build a country that is safe and secure from future disasters, it is essential to learn from past losses and ensure that the construction of buildings, roads, and bridges meets prescribed standards, including Building Codes. Therefore, he urged all stakeholders involved in the nation’s construction sector—including relevant departments, private sector engineers and architects, investment developers, and manufacturers and distributors of construction materials—to create and build infrastructure that is safe and secure for the citizens in the future.
He stated that the state is implementing earthquake rehabilitation efforts sector by sector. To date, approximately 84 percent of these tasks across various sectors have been completed, and work is continuing with momentum. He expressed his belief that the incoming government, which will soon take over state responsibilities, will be able to maintain this momentum in continuing the ongoing earthquake rehabilitation projects.
Also, he stated that Myanmar ranks 6th according to the World Risk Index 2025, which calculates global risk and vulnerability based on environmental degradation, climate change, and the adaptive capacity of various sectors including economic and social areas. He noted that looking at these factors, it is important to recognize the urgent need to effectively integrate disaster management tasks into every sector and urged everyone to strictly follow these measures.
He then stated that during the five-year term of the military government, the country faced the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Cyclone Mocha in 2023, Typhoon Yagi in 2024, and the Mandalay earthquake in 2025. These natural disasters not only caused loss of life and property among the public but also hindered the nation’s development.
He noted that although the extremely powerful Mandalay earthquake caused physical and psychological damage and significantly impacted the nation’s development path, the strong spirit, resilience, and unity of the Myanmar people allowed these difficulties and obstacles to be overcome to a successful extent. He firmly stated his be-lief that reconstruction efforts will continue to reach a state even better than the original conditions.
As the saying goes, a good beginning makes a good ending, it is necessary to proactively carry out tasks for natural disaster risk reduction effectively from the beginning. Only then, can the cost for natural disaster rehabilitation tasks be reduced by seven folds, according to experts. Therefore, it is essential to take disaster resilience and sustainability into consideration in future national development processes without fail.
In doing so, the strength of the government alone will not be sufficient and success can be achieved only through collective cooperation. Therefore, the people are urged to join hands with the government to over-come hardships by upholding the same will as the resilience they nurtured through the spirit of “We are stronger, We are together,” to overcome various hardships during natural disasters, at the journey to open a new page for the future country.
Then, the Senior General urged all to build a resilient, sustainable and developed country by encountering various dangers and hardships including natural disasters in the future through unity and cooperation and prayed for all earthquake victims including monks and laypersons freedom from various disasters for the country and the health and happiness of the entire national peoples.
Then, honorary medals were conferred on local and foreign disaster response teams during the earthquake and the Senior General presented honorary medals for Tatmadaw personnel who participated in disaster response operations to a senior military officer, for Chinese disaster response teams to the Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar, for Russian disaster response teams to the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Myanmar and for Indian disaster response teams to the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar.
Afterward, Vice-Senior General Soe Win presented honorary medals for Nepal disaster response teams to the Ambassador of Nepal, for Brazilian disaster response teams to the Brazilian Ambassador to Myanmar, for UAE disaster response teams to the UAE Ambassador to Myanmar and for Sri Lankan disaster response teams to the Ambassador of the Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic.
Afterward, member of the commission Prime Minister U Nyo Saw, Executive Chief U Aung Lin Dway, secretary ofthe commission General Ye Win Oo and member of the commission Union Minister for Defence General Maung Maung Aye presented honorary medals for relief teams from various countries that participated in the relief efforts to relevant ambassadors, charge de affaires and military attaches and for the Myanmar Police Force, the Myanmar Earthquake Committee, the Myanmar Engineering Council, the Fire Services Department, the Myanmar Engineering Society and Myanmar Geosciences Association.
Then, the Senior General and attendees watched the documentary video clip for the first anniversary of the earthquake.
Afterward, the Senior General cordially greeted the attendees.
After the ceremony, the Senior General and attendees observed the documentary photo-graphs for earthquake response efforts and exhibition booths of ministries.
