Myanmar 's military junta should allow immediate unfettered access to humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors and lift restrictions that impede the emergency response, Human Rights Watch said today. Since the earthquake struck at 12:50 p.m. on March 28, 2025, the military has carried out airstrikes and limited internet access in severely affected areas, further complicating the humanitarian response.
The earthquake struck central Myanmar, toppling buildings and damaging roads and bridges. The epicenter was in Sagaing Region, close to Myanmar's second-largest city, Mandalay, and the capital, Naypyidaw. The Myanmar military reported that more than 1,700 people had died, although estimates by the US Geological Survey suggest a possible death toll of 10,000 or higher.
"Myanmar's military junta still invokes fear, even in the wake of a horrific natural disaster that killed and injured thousands," said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The junta needs to break from its appalling past practice and ensure that humanitarian aid quickly reaches those whose lives are at risk in earthquake-affected areas."
Days after the earthquake, people remain trapped in the rubble as family members and volunteer rescue workers desperately search for survivors with no machinery or safety equipment. In Sagaing, the regional capital, rescuers have run out of body bags and the city is filled with the odor of decaying corpses. "The bodies for volunteers to cremate are piling up," said a rescue worker in a report shared with Human Rights Watch. "Even if they cremate a body every three minutes, they would have to work around the clock."
Local journalists, humanitarian organizations, and social media report that many affected areas are without electricity and clean water. There are reported shortages of gasoline in both Mandalay and Sagaing cities. Food and other essential goods are in short supply because shops and markets have been closed. Across central Myanmar, people are sleeping outside and are in urgent need of shelter.
Within hours of the earthquake, the junta requested international assistance and declared an emergency in six states and regions. Large swathes of the country affected by the earthquake are under control of the anti-junta opposition or are contested. Information from these areas is limited due to military restrictions, including internet shutdowns, bans on VPNs, and popular social media platforms, including Facebook.
Several countries and international agencies have offered assistance, with foreign rescue teams reaching Mandalay and Naypyidaw within days. Although the junta indicated that all assistance was welcome, emergency workers from Taiwan were refused entry. A junta spokesperson also said that foreign media would not be allowed to report on the earthquake from inside the country.
In Sagaing, local media have reported restrictions imposed by local junta authorities, the military, and affiliated militia, requiring community members to seek authorization to respond to the earthquake by submitting lists of volunteers and items to be donated. The junta has not lifted curfews that have been in place since the Covid-19 pandemic, hindering rescue efforts.
Even prior to the earthquake, humanitarian needs had surged in central Myanmar where opposition groups have been fighting Myanmar security forces and allied militias since the February 2021 coup. In December 2024, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated the number of people in need of assistance was 2.1 million in Mandalay Region and 2.7 million in Sagaing Region. Prior to the earthquake, nearly 1.35 million people had been displaced in the two regions according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
A humanitarian worker told Human Rights Watch that people who had fled fighting and sought shelter in monasteries, convents, and other religious buildings have been displaced yet again due to earthquake damage to these structures. Earthquake survivors also face risks from dislodged landmines, which often shift during natural disasters.
Hospitals in central Myanmar are overwhelmed with those injured. The country's healthcare system has deteriorated since the coup, with shortages of medical supplies and personnel. Local media reported that the junta had recently closed seven private hospitals in Mandalay because they had hired doctors and other medical staff from the civil disobedience movement.
In previous natural disasters, including Cyclone Mocha in 2023 and Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the Myanmar military has refused to authorize travel and visas for aid workers, release urgently needed supplies from customs and warehouses, and relax onerous and unnecessary restrictions on lifesaving assistance.
The junta is obligated under international human rights law to uphold the rights to life, health, and shelter. Under international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflict areas, Myanmar's military and opposition armed groups are obligated to facilitate rapid and unimpeded impartial humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need and cannot withhold consent for relief operations on arbitrary grounds.
Donors should rapidly support the earthquake response while seeking ways to channel aid through independent local groups, rather than only through junta authorities, given the military's track record of corruption and misuse of disaster assistance funding and materiel. Effective aid delivery hinges on engaging local partners that have the networks and experience to navigate a difficult environment and reach those most in need, Human Rights Watch said.
"Myanmar's junta cannot be trusted to respond to a disaster of this scale," Lau said. "Concerned governments and international agencies need to press the junta to allow full and immediate access to survivors wherever they are."
