A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has devastated huge areas of Myanmar. People urgently need help to survive.
More than 2,800 people have died and hundreds of people are still missing. Many more have no access to the safe shelter, clean water, food and medical care they need to survive.
Aid agencies including CARE are responding right now to the crisis and providing life-saving support. More funds are urgently needed to meet the huge levels of need. Today, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launches the Myanmar Earthquake Appeal, with CARE International UK and the 14 other leading aid agencies that make up the DEC.
Countless roads and buildings in Myanmar have been destroyed, including hospitals, schools and water supplies. Network and power lines are down. People are cut off from vital services.
Myanmar was already facing a severe humanitarian crisis with a third of the population in need of humanitarian aid. Now the situation is catastrophic.
DEC charities are already on the ground in affected communities and are working hard to access remote areas. We urgently need more funds to scale up this work and reach the most vulnerable.
How aid agencies are responding
DEC charities, including CARE International, and their local partners are already working in Myanmar to support search and rescue efforts, and provide emergency shelter, food, water, medical care and basic supplies. However, the scale of the crisis means that much more support is needed.
Arif Noor, Country Director for CARE International in Myanmar, said:
“Our emergency relief teams are witnessing complete devastation everywhere we go. People traumatised by the earthquake are sleeping on the streets, with no clean water or food to eat and nowhere to escape from the heat. They simply don’t know where to turn or where to find safety.
“This catastrophe has brought already vulnerable communities to their knees. To meet this level of need will require a sustained and large-scale humanitarian effort. We call on the international community to step forward to support people in Myanmar. They cannot afford to wait.”
How you can help
Please join thousands of people in the UK who are determined to help communities devastated by this catastrophe, and donate to the DEC appeal today.
This will allow DEC charities and their local partners to provide shelter, medical care, food, water, cash support and other lifesaving aid.
- £35 could buy a hygiene kit
- £49 could buy a food package
- £77 could buy a shelter kit
CARE International UK is raising money together with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) for the Myanmar Earthquake Appeal. The DEC is a consortium of 15 aid agencies working together in times of disasters and emergencies.
