FILE PHOTO: This photo taken on September 16, 2025 shows a man next to construction equipment clearing the site where the Sky Villa Condo, destroyed in the March 28 earthquake, had stood in Mandalay. The March 28 earthquake killed nearly 3,800 people as it flattened swaths of Mandalay, and dealt an especially heavy blow in a country reeling from civil war since the military seized power in a 2021 coup. - AFP
YANGON: The powerful earthquake in March 2025 damaged roads, bridges, homes, schools, electricity facilities, transportation and communications sectors, causing losses of over 7,979 billion kyats (US$3.761 billio), said Union Minister for Home Affairs Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung, Chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, at a ceremony to mark the 2025 International Day for Disaster Reduction held at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Nay Pyi Taw on October 10.
Union Minister Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung said that the “International Day for Disaster Reduction” was being celebrated under the theme “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters” and that 2024 was the hottest year on record according to the Global Climate Change Report. A global study of natural disaster occurrence found that the number of people at risk of flooding increased by 24.9 per cent from 28.1 million in 1970 to 35.1 million in 2020. Drought has increased by 29 per cent over the past 20 years. The annual estimated loss from tropical cyclones is US$119 billion.
After the March earthquake, under the leadership of the Head of State and close supervision of the National Disaster Management Committee, earthquake emergency response and recovery efforts were carried out in collaboration with relevant working committees, ministries, organisations, regional and state disaster management teams, and the public.
Recovery efforts are now underway at a rapid pace. Myanmar is ranked sixth among the ten most vulnerable countries in the Global Disaster Risk Reduction Index, so it is very important to continue to prioritise disaster risk reduction. In order to build resilience, the government, private sectors, as well as development and humanitarian organisations, must invest more in disaster risk reduction measures to reduce the damage.
Union Minister Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung and Union Minister Dr. Soe Win presented medals, certificates and cash prizes to the winners of the independent level essay competition, basic education middle and high school level art competitions, and viewed photo galleries commemorating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, Union Minister for Home Affairs, Lt. Gen. Tun Tun Naung, the Vice Chairman of the Management Committee and members of the committee Union Ministers and Deputy Ministers, departmental officials, officials from women's associations, officials from the United Nations and local and foreign non-governmental organisations, students and invited guests. - Eleven Media/ANN
