Disaster Relief

The 2025 Mandalay Earthquake

On March 28, 2025, a huge, shallow 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay. It caused damage and injuries as far away as Bangkok, Thailand. Praise God, all of our own people were safe, but thousands of families around Mandalay and Sagaing lost homes, loved ones, and everything they owned.

Within two days, Palal Khongsai and a small team of volunteers were on the road from Yangon. Over the following weeks MyHope made two relief trips, bringing food, medical help, and comfort to survivors, made possible by International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES) and many generous donors. Here is what they did.

First trip: Mandalay, Sagaing, and Kyaukse

• March 30–31: Palal and the team drove from Yangon to Kyaukse, then on to Mandalay, to see conditions on the ground. They spent two full days investigating and gathering facts in Mandalay and Sagaing, including visits to 15 monasteries at the International Buddhist Center in Sagaing.
• April 1: Four MyHope volunteers gave gifts of money for medical needs to 81 injured patients at Sagaing Hospital. In all, 160 severely injured people at the hospital received $25 to $50 each, depending on their injuries. Because the banks in Mandalay had very little cash, the team then drove to Pyin Oo Lwin to draw funds.
• April 4: As stores began to reopen, the team bought food, cooking oil, mosquito nets, and mats. They visited affected families in Tekong Village, Patheingyi, and gave rice and 15 kinds of food to nine families.
• April 5: The team helped Miss Hlaing Shwe Zin, who lost both of her parents when their two-story house collapsed, and her injured relatives get X-rays, treatment, and medicine at Mingala Hospital.
• April 6: They visited Kuki families, Bethlehem Brethren Church, and Young Crusaders (Evangelical Baptist Church) in Mandalay, whose buildings had cracked walls and ceilings, and prayed with them.
• April 7–9: The team visited several camps in Mandalay where survivors were living. At Seinpan Camp they asked the leaders what was needed most, then bought eleven kinds of vegetables and dried fish at the Mandalay wholesale market for 1,050 people.
• On the way home: In Kyaukse the team met parents and teachers from Brightkids Preschool. The two-story school was totally destroyed; 26 young students, one teacher, and one staff member died, and 19 other students were badly injured. MyHope gave help and comfort to the parents of the children who were killed and injured. The team also gave cash to eight families in Sagaing Town who lost children and teachers at a summer school.

By the end of the first trip, MyHope had given 21 bags of rice and 15 different food items to 96 people in Mandalay and Patheingyi (enough for ten days), along with the hospital gifts and vegetable delivery above.

The Shwe-te-gyin fire

During the earthquake, more than 400 homes in the Shwe-te-gyin Block of Mandalay burned down. No one knows exactly where the fire started; some people said it came out of the cracked ground. Families could not save anything from their homes and were left with nothing. MyHope was able to help some of them as they begin to rebuild.

Stories of the people we met

Mr. Way Lin Zaw lost everything. He had brought his young daughter to Mandalay for treatment of a neurological illness, and they were staying at a Hindu temple when the building collapsed. His son (9), his daughter (2½), and two sisters-in-law were all killed. Concrete trapped his lower body until a crane lifted it off him. Only he and his father survived. Palal comforted and prayed over him and gave him money for his needs.

Miss Hlaing Shwe Zin lost both of her parents, Mr. Aung Win Maung and Mrs. Phyu Phyu Win, when their house collapsed. The concrete second floor fell on her, and it took about two hours to free her; she lost all feeling in her right leg. Her younger sister and her niece were also injured. MyHope arranged doctor visits, X-rays, and medicine for them at Mingala Hospital, and gave the family rice and food along with nine other families.

Second trip: Inle Lake and three other towns (April 25 – May 3)

On a nine-day second trip, Palal and his team took rice, eggs, cooking oil, noodles, and other food to earthquake-affected villages in southern Shan State and beyond.

• April 26: Pepin Inn Village, Nyaung Shwe Township. There is no land in this village; the houses are built on the water, so food was handed out from boat to boat.
• April 28: Eing Htauk Gyi Village: 130 households, 650 people.
• April 29: Myaung Wa Gyi Village: 86 households, 401 villagers.
• April 29: Zayat Gyi Village: 201 families, 549 people. Five people there were killed in the earthquake and five were hospitalized. The team gave eleven kinds of food, including 200 bags of rice (12 kg each), 2,000 eggs, and 200 liters of cooking oil.
• April 30: Paukpa Village: 302 households, 1,053 people. Kya Taw Village: 364 households, 1,184 people.
• May 2: 30 families (120 people) in five villages of Nyaung Shwe Township on Inle Lake: Kan Khaung, Naung Daw Leche, Ma-gyi-seik, Ywar Gyi A-thet, and Ye Pyaung.

What your gifts accomplished

On the second trip alone, Palal and his team:

• Distributed food to 7,917 people, including 1,185 bags of rice, 10,000 eggs, cooking oil, and noodles
• Directly helped 8,055 earthquake survivors in Nyaung Shwe, Pwe Bwe, Yamethin, and Naypyidaw (Pyinmana) with food and/or money
• Helped 98 injured people with medical funds
• Helped the families of 81 people who died in the earthquake
• Helped 2 disabled people

All of this was made possible by your generous donations. Thank you, and God bless you all! To help with future disaster relief, please give through our Donate page.