Some villages on an alluvial island in the Ayeyarwady River in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, suffered severe damage from the earthquake and urgently need support to rebuild before the monsoon season begins, according to local residents.
Several villages, including Thanbokyun village in Patheingyi Township, were damaged by the 28 March earthquake and are now in need of assistance.
These villages are situated on an island in the middle of the Ayeyarwady River and face annual flooding as the river rises during the rainy season.
The alluvial island is home to villages such as Hinywatsu, Nyaungpinthar, Phoehlagon, Dammakya, Gyainggyi, and Kyunsin.
A rescue worker reported that the fault line from the 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck near Sagaing on 28 March, cut through the eastern part of Thanbokyun village, causing roads to crack and houses to collapse.
Villages on the alluvial island were devastated, with Thanbokyun village suffering the worst damage. The ground collapsed, opening cracks as deep as a man’s height, and 38 houses were reportedly destroyed.
“Normally, the area floods during the rainy season. Now, with the earthquake causing landslides, the water is coming in even more. We need to fix the damage before the rains start,” said a local resident.
A rescue worker stated that they plan to fill the cracks in the collapsed soil with sand and are in need of machinery and financial assistance.
Some aid workers have arrived in villages affected by the earthquake, including Thanbokyun, and locals are beginning to rebuild on their own. However, with the rainy season approaching, there are growing concerns among the community.
The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has issued a warning for heavy rain and isolated downpours in central and upper Myanmar, including Mandalay Region, starting at the end of April.
Additionally, social relief organizations have cautioned that if the rain persists, the Ayeyarwady River will rise, leading to flooding along its riverbanks.
The rainy season is expected to begin in mid-May, and social relief groups emphasize that earthquake-affected areas must be restored before then, with affected individuals urgently needing shelter.
The earthquake that struck on the afternoon of 28 March caused widespread damage across Sagaing, Mandalay, Magway, Naypyidaw, and Bago regions, and northeastern Shan State with rescue efforts still underway in some areas.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has reported that over 4.3 million earthquake victims require food and shelter assistance.
