CNI News
1 April 2025
The people are wondering how the State Administration Council (SAC) has planned for earthquake relief and reconstruction regarding casualties as well as the collapse of buildings, roads and bridges due to a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck centering in Sagaing near Mandalay on March 28.
The SAC chairman said that the relief and rehabilitation of the earthquake-affected people would be carried out in three phases.
He made the remarks during a special meeting to expedite relief and rehabilitation efforts in earthquake-affected areas on March 30, 2025.
SAC Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said that the reconstruction work for the earthquake-affected areas will be carried out in three phases:
clearing away collapsed buildings and debris; systematically clearing away the remaining collapsed buildings to prevent them from becoming a hazard, and reconstruction.
The SAC must continue to vigorously carry out the reconstruction and rehabilitation work of roads, bridges, and state-owned buildings that were damaged or lost due to the earthquake and will have to use a lot of financial, manpower, and vehicle resources; since private construction projects will also need to be supported, when requesting international assistance, it is necessary to include construction materials needed for reconstruction, he said.
In addition, it is necessary to systematically scrutinize the insurance policies in the building insurance industry and take steps to obtain insurance funds, he added.
Transport routes must be restored to their previous condition as soon as possible; The collapse of the Sagaing Bridge (Inwa) on the old Sagaing-Mandalay road and the damage to the railway overpass must be repaired as soon as possible and the waterway must be reopened as soon as possible, said the SAC chairman.
In order to carry out relief and rescue operations more effectively, the damaged airplane runways need to be repaired and reopened as soon as possible; the Ministry of Construction and the Directorate of Military Engineering must work together to restore and improve damaged roads and bridges as soon as possible; cranes that can lift the large amounts of material needed for relief work need to be sent to earthquake-affected areas as soon as possible, he said.
Since many monks live in cramped accommodation in monasteries in Mandalay, it is necessary to make appropriate arrangements to facilitate the provision of alms food and other matters for all monks, said Sr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing.
It was necessary to take the lessons from the recent earthquake and systematically calculate and inspect natural disaster resilience standards when constructing roads, bridges, and buildings; it was necessary to systematically document the earthquake data and events that occurred during this earthquake and release statements, said the SAC chairman.
Moreover, in providing relief and support materials, it is necessary to systematically compile and process records to ensure that all earthquake victims receive them, he said.
It was necessary to provide food and drink to earthquake-affected people; all officials needed to systematically make a list to ensure that there were no earthquake-affected people who do not receive their share. The SAC would have to deal with rehabilitation issues which must be implemented as soon as possible in accordance with priority levels, he said.
