The U.N. reported on Monday that at least 2.5 million tons of debris—equivalent to 125,000 truckloads—need to be cleared in the six hardest hit regions impacted by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28.
Residents of Sagaing – the earthquake’s epicenter – Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Bago, Magway and Shan State have lived outdoors among the rubble of buildings that collapsed over 20 days ago.
Titon Mitra, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) representative in Myanmar, said that over 60,000 people are staying at temporary displacement sites during a visit to Sagaing.
The U.N. added that over 10,000 homes and public service buildings may have been significantly damaged or destroyed, while 128 health facilities had a high likelihood of significant damage after they were exposed to severe or violent tremors during the two weeks that followed the March 28 earthquake.
On April 10, the U.N. appealed to the international community for $275 million USD to support the 1.1 million people in Myanmar impacted by the earthquake.
It requested $241.6 million USD to aid those in the most impacted regions and stated that it channeled $134 million USD from its 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Myanmar.
The regime has calculated 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 National Unity Government (NUG) made its own calculations, documenting that 32,368 houses, 5,324 religious buildings, 4,603 “infrastructure facilities” and 554 schools were either damaged or destroyed during the earthquake.
Sagaing Township residents told DVB that 90 percent of the town has been destroyed and the cost to rent heavy machinery to demolish a two-story building is 10 million MMK ($2,200 USD). DVB data states that at least 696 bodies have been recovered in Sagaing.
Residents of Amarapura and Chanmyathazi townships in Mandalay told DVB that the cost to rent machinery to demolish houses left uninhabitable due to damage caused by the earthquake is 100 million MMK ($22,000 USD). It costs an additional 20 million MMK ($4,400 USD) for rubble clearance.
Mandalay reported the highest death toll with 2,788 bodies recovered since the earthquake, according to DVB data.
Residents of Naypyidaw told DVB that they have received no assistance from regime authorities to date and that it costs 500,000 MMK ($110 USD) per day to rent a backhoe to clear rubble.
Naypyidaw reported 615 bodies recovered since the earthquake, according to DVB data.
Residents of Kaylar village, near Inle Lake in Nyaungshwe Township of southern Shan State, told DVB that they have been sleeping on their boats since 435 homes in the village were destroyed by the earthquake.
Thirty-one bodies have been recovered since the earthquake in Kaylar, according to DVB data.
