A devastating earthquake has hit Myanmar, putting the lives of children at risk.
The 7.7 magnitude earthquake was felt across many parts of the country including major cities like Mandalay, with tremors causing destruction in Thailand and felt elsewhere in the region.
Over 3,500 people have reportedly died and thousands more injured – many are children. The death toll is likely to skyrocket as the chances of survival for those trapped under the rubble dwindle. Some estimates state the death toll could be as high as 10,000.
The earthquake has caused widespread destruction, reducing homes, hospitals, schools, and vital infrastructure to rubble. Entire communities have been upended, forcing people to seek shelter in makeshift conditions, disrupting markets, worsening psychosocial distress, and bringing essential services—such as running water, sanitation, and healthcare—to the brink of collapse
Myanmar has declared a state of emergency across six regions – Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Bago, Shan and Naypyidaw. Over 17 million people have been affected in total, with more than 9.1 million people residing in the hardest-hit areas. Children and families in these heavily impacted regions were already vulnerable due to the persistent conflicts and were in need of humanitarian assistance even before this disaster. 1.1 million children are estimated to be vulnerable and in need of critical support.
Children are always the most vulnerable in crises like this.
- They can easily become separated from their families, leaving them alone, terrified and vulnerable to exploitation.
- They may have witnessed the death of loved ones and need specialist support to overcome the traumatic experience.
- Aftershocks could threaten their lives and safety once more.
- Where homes have been destroyed, they will need immediate shelter and emergency relief items.
- From experience, we know often schools and hospitals can be damaged, threatening to cut them off from essential services they need to survive and thrive.
We’re now in a race against time to avoid decreased access to already limited public services, disease outbreaks and rising hunger. Children and their families are in desperate need of food, drinking water, mosquito nets and shelter. 193 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, but even where facilities are still standing, they are overwhelmed with thousands of injured people arriving in need of emergency care.
Adding to the devastation, heavy rains and strong winds struck the most severely affected areas, including Mandalay and Sagaing. Children and families that were left homeless by the earthquake are now completely exposed to this severe weather.
Our teams are responding alongside local partners to ensure children and their families can get the support they need to mitigate the worst impacts of this disaster.
Our Children’s Emergency Fund means we can act as soon as a crisis hits, and deliver lifesaving support wherever it is needed, when it matters most. It means we have funds ready for when a disaster strikes.
OUR RESPONSE
We have almost 10 teams on the ground responding, with almost 80 staff supporting the response in most of the worst affected earthquake areas. We’re also working with 6 partners and mapping additional partners to help us scale up our response further.
Our response has so far reached over 91,000 people in Myanmar across most of the worst affected earthquake areas. We have been:
- Distributing food and drinking water to impacted communities.
- Providing personal hygiene kits and repairing damaged water points and have also set up emergency latrines.
- Distributing child friendly recreational and learning materials for children.
- Setting up safe spaces for children where they can play, receive emotional support, restore a sense of normality.
- Providing cash to families so they can buy food, medicine and other essentials.
- Distributing kits containing blankets, tarpaulin for makeshift shelters and learning materials for children.
- Carrying out emergency health care and first aid medical services to support impacted communities.
- Providing mental health and psychosocial support to children who are experiencing fear and shock after the earthquake.
Our teams in Thailand are working with local partners across the country to understand the impact on children and families, including the migrant communities that we work with. For refugee children living along the Thai-Myanmar border the earthquake has disrupted already limited hygiene and sanitation services and access to learning. We are assessing the extent of structural damage to schools in the north of the country and along the border with Myanmar, to ensure children’s safe return to learning as soon as possible.
Our Children’s Emergency Fund means we can act as soon as a crisis hits, and deliver lifesaving support wherever it is needed, when it matters most. It means we have funds ready for when a disaster strikes, so we don’t have to wait to reach children in crises.
By giving to Save the Children’s Emergency Fund, you can help protect children caught up in emergencies like this latest earthquake in Myanmar, helping to protect a child’s life and future.
With global humanitarian funding under strain, flexible support is more vital than ever in enabling us to respond quickly and effectively in times of emergency. Your contribution to the Emergency Fund will be critical for children in crisis in 2025 and beyond.
Our staff are sector-leading in child protection and education in emergencies, and with your help we can be by children’s side during their most challenging moments.
Donate now to our children's emergency fund to support children in Myanmar and around the world.
Save the Children staff support families and children in a displacement camp in Mandalay following the earthquake. Staff have been installing shelters in the temporary camps where people affected by the earthquake are staying. In mid-April, heavy rains and winds led to flooding in one of the camps, and the response team worked through the night to drain the standing water.
First-person accounts of the Myanmar earthquake
Myanmar-Thailand earthquake: "My children can talk of little else but the earthquake and what if it happens again"
A Myanmar/Thailand Staff account on the experience of children during and after an earthquake and psychosocial support with some guidance about earthquakes, what to do and how to talk about them, for children and families.
30 Mar 2025
‘Young children screamed in fear’: Save the Children responds in Myanmar with lifesaving aid in earthquake affected areas
Save the Children is collaborating with partners to respond to the urgent needs of children and families in some of the affected areas.
31 Mar 2025
global
MYANMAR CHILD ACCOUNT: ‘It was terrifying’ – Children prepare to spend Myanmar New Year festival in shelters following earthquake
“I couldn’t process what was happening. I just ran. I barely escaped. The moment I stepped outside, bricks started falling from the ceiling. We all ran to the open field near our house. This was the first earthquake I had ever experienced. It was terrifying.”
4 Apr 2025
global
One week after Myanmar earthquake, children grieve for lost parents while needs, including water and shelter, remain high
“I will never forget the moment I pulled my younger brother into the water, the sight of our fallen village, or my mother’s broken body. These memories will stay with me forever.”
What is the situation like for children in Myanmar?
Children in Myanmar were already facing a severe humanitarian crisis, even before this latest earthquake. Violent conflict, food insecurity and an economic crisis has left 6 million children already in need of humanitarian support.
Since 1995, we have developed innovative programmes in Myanmar to help address the most critical issues impacting children nationwide.
Our long-term programmes in Myanmar focus on:
- Food security for children and families, while creating income-generating opportunities to support self-reliance and resilience during recovery.
- Improving access to essential health, nutrition, and WASH services.
- Ensuring children receive continuous, quality education.
The latest on the Myanmar earthquake
7 Apr 2025
MYANMAR: Heavy rains heighten risk of disease outbreaks following earthquake
Save the Children and its partners are seeing the needs of children firsthand in communities with limited access to clean water in the aftermath of the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake on 28 March.
2 Apr 2025
MYANMAR: Children living in the open face additional risk of heat related illnesses after deadly earthquake
Children living in the open in Myanmar after being forced from their homes by the deadly earthquake are at additional risk of heat related illnesses as temperatures in parts of the country climb to 40°C (104 F), Save the Children said.
2 Apr 2025
global
OPINION - Devastating Myanmar Earthquake Underscores the Urgent Need for a Strong Global Aid System
The devastating earthquake in Myanmar is a stark reminder of the importance of timely and effective disaster response efforts in the face of overwhelming human need. Gabriella Waaijman, SCI Chief Operating Officer explains further in this opinion piece.
USEFUL RESOURCES
6 Feb 2023
global
Nine tips for earthquake safety
Save the Children's nine tips for earthquake safety before, during and after an earthquake to help children and their families.
20 Sep 2024
global
How to help children in emergencies
Use these tips from Save the Children’s emergency response experts to help support children before, during and even after an emergency is over