The fallout from the earthquake that shook Myanmar is being complicated by damage to the country's infrastructure and communication networks, a UN agency has said, as the country faces a huge economic bill from the disaster.
The 7.7-magnitude tremor has stalled internet services, disrupted airport operations and damaged roads, making it difficult to assess needs and the overall situation, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest update.
“The earthquake caused widespread destruction of homes and severe damage to critical infrastructure,” the New York-based Ocha said.
It said that major bridges, roads, hotels and public service buildings in urban and rural areas have been “heavily damaged or destroyed”. In addition, commercial flights at Mandalay International Airport have been suspended until further notice.
The US Geological Survey said earlier that estimated economic losses may exceed the gross domestic product of the South-East Asian nation as the death toll from the disaster rises.
The Virginia-based USGS predicted that fatalities could rise to anywhere between 10,000 and 100,000, based on its modelling, because “high casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread”, it said on its website.
Myanmar’s GDP is estimated at $65 billion in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The earthquake hit Myanmar’s second biggest city, Mandalay, on Friday, killing least 1,644 people and injuring more than 3,400, with numbers projected to rise, according to latest figures from the country’s military government.
The tremors also shook neighbouring Thailand, where a building under construction collapsed in the capital, Bangkok.
Thai authorities said 17 people have been killed and dozens either injured or missing at three building sites in the city, including a 30-storey building where more than 80 people were trapped under rubble.
Myanmar is in the midst of an economic crisis sparked by an armed conflict, with people taking up arms against the military junta that seized power in a coup in 2021.
Heavy floods in September caused further damage to the country’s economy and infrastructure, displacing thousands of people, according to a World Bank report in December.
“The kyat [Myanmar's currency] lost 40 per cent of its value against the US dollar on parallel markets over the first eight months of 2024,” the World Bank said. “While the exchange rate subsequently stabilised, inflation remains elevated due to the lagged pass-through effects, as well as domestic supply and logistics disruptions caused by conflict and Typhoon Yagi.”
Several public infrastructure projects have been delayed as the economy continues to suffer amid the unrest and natural disasters.
“A further escalation in conflict … or another severe natural disaster could depress output across a range of sectors,” the World Bank said.
It projected the country’s economy would contract by 1 per cent in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, after recording growth of 1 per cent during the previous fiscal year.
The UN Development Programme in a separate report in January said the country was facing an unprecedented “polycrisis” marked by economic collapse, intensifying conflict, complex climate hazards and deepening poverty four years after the military coup.
“If current trends continue, poverty will rise further, migration will intensify and the country’s fragile economy will struggle under the weight of continued conflict and international isolation,” the UN report warned.
Since 2020, Myanmar’s GDP has contracted by nine per cent, reversing the economic progress of the previous decade, it added.
