Earthquake survivors in Myanmar continue to struggle nearly one year later

Relief and recovery efforts remain a challenge 11 months after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar on March 28, the U.N. the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Myanmar highlighted in its report released on Friday.

The U.N. stated that 16 percent of households nationwide — and nearly 60 percent of those living in quake hit regions— continue to face poverty, income loss and unemployment.

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar on March 28 with its epicenter in Sagaing Region. The regions of Mandalay, Bago, Magway, Naypyidaw and southern Shan were five of the six hardest hit.

At least 4,477 people were killed nationwide, according to DVB data. The regime death toll is 3,773 with 653 survivors rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings. In its report, the U.N. has documented at least 4,000 killed.

Regime media reported that 48,834 houses, 3,094 monasteries and nunneries, 2,045 schools, 2,171 offices and buildings, 148 bridges, and 5,275 pagodas, were destroyed by the earthquake.

The U.N. added that recovery efforts remain limited due to humanitarian funding cuts as well as regime-imposed aid delivery restrictions. With only 26 percent of the quake response plan funded, the U.N. states that Myanmar ended the year as one of the most underfunded crises globally.

Residents in the six hardest hit regions told DVB they have not received sufficient humanitarian assistance. Prior to the quake, around 17 million people across Myanmar were facing food insecurity, according to the U.N.

Over 800 military attacks, including 585 airstrikes, were recorded nationwide in the 60 days following the quake, with at least 236 occurring in townships located in the quake-affected zone.

The regime has carried out 2,503 aerial attacks nationwide, which has killed 1,797 civilians and injured 3,836 since March 28, according to DVB data.

Without increased funding and improved humanitarian access, relief and recovery efforts in quake-affected regions will remain slow and communities will face continued hardship, according to the U.N.