One year after a catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake tore through central Myanmar, leaving thousands dead and billions of dollars in destruction, the nation has gathered to honor the lives lost and reflect on ongoing recovery work. The official commemoration ceremony was hosted in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar’s national capital, and broadcast by state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television on Sunday.
Addressing attendees, Acting President Senior General Min Aung Hlaing opened the event by extending heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed and affected by the disaster. He spoke of the widespread grief over the thousands of lives cut short and the irreversible loss of personal and public property across the impacted regions.
Min Aung Hlaing went on to detail the full scale of the destruction the earthquake left in its wake. The tremor, which struck on March 28, 2025, rippled across 10 of Myanmar’s administrative regions and states, including the capital Nay Pyi Taw. Official casualty counts confirm 3,818 people lost their lives in the disaster, while an additional 5,104 people suffered injuries ranging from minor to life-altering. In total, more than 160,000 households saw their homes damaged or destroyed, leaving over 420,000 people displaced or otherwise impacted by the event. Preliminary economic assessments put total infrastructure, property and cultural damage at more than 7,979 billion kyats, equivalent to roughly $3.79 billion. One of the most visible symbols of the destruction, captured in international press imagery, was a centuries-old Buddha statue reduced to rubble in Mandalay, the earthquake’s hardest-hit urban center.
Beyond commemorating the lives lost, the acting president emphasized that national rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts remain ongoing, with the government prioritizing the safe return of displaced residents and the rebuilding of critical public infrastructure damaged in the tremor.