The March 28 Sagaing earthquake ranks as the strongest and most devastating in Myanmar’s modern history, causing the highest loss of life and widespread destruction of religious sites, homes, and other buildings. The 7.7-magnitude quake had claimed over 3,770 lives as of Monday, one month after the disaster.
Official figures released on April 4 showed Mandalay Region suffered the highest death toll, at over 2,000, followed by Naypyitaw (600-700), and Sagaing Region (over 500). The regime has not updated casualty figures for those areas since then, and the number has likely risen significantly in the past few weeks.
Although the regime claims rescue operations have ended and reconstruction has begun, the death toll continues to rise and survivors remain in makeshift roadside shelters one month later. In the devastated cities of Mandalay, Sagaing and Naypyitaw, rubble from collapsed buildings remains uncleared.
To put the current disaster’s scale into context, here’s a brief look at major earthquakes in Myanmar, from the Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885) to the present, focusing on those that caused significant damage and loss of life.
Inwa Earthquake in 1839 (Konbaung Dynasty)
March 23, 1839: Devastation wrought by the Inwa (or Ava) earthquake is recorded by scholars at the time. The 7.3-magnitude temblor ripples from its epicenter in Inwa (modern-day Tada-U, Mandalay Region), causing about 400 fatalities – a significant toll given that Mandalay city had yet to be founded.
The quake occurs during the reign of King Bagan, brother of King Thibaw, and causes extensive damage to homes, pagodas, and monasteries. The great Mingun Bell – once the largest in the world – and big temple in Mingun across the Irrawaddy River are also affected. The Mae Nu brick monastery in Inwa suffers only minor cracks in the 1839 event, but is reduced to rubble along with many other Inwa historical and religious sites during last month’s quake.
Maymyo, Bago and Pyu Earthquakes in 1912 and 1930 (British Colonial Period)
May 23, 1912: The Maymyo (now Pyin Oo Lwin) Earthquake registers 8.0 on the Richter scale – the strongest to hit Myanmar before the March 28 Sagaing disaster. However, the Maymyo quake occurs about 30 kilometers northwest of Taunggyi in a less populated forest area, resulting in relatively low casualties and damage, according to Myanmar geologist Dr. Thein. Worst hit are Shan North, Sagaing, and Monywa districts. Geologist John Coggin Brown traces the epicenter to the Kyaukkyan fault near Pyin Oo Lwin. The fault runs 500 km north to south along the Shan Plateau and remains active.
May 5, 1930: The infamous Bago Earthquake rocks the 20,00- strong population of Bago Region with a 7.3-magnitude force, killing over 500. The epicenter is close to the city, and fires triggered by the quake worsen the damage. Memoirist Maurice Collis is among British officials who document the event, sending reports to the colonial administration. Prominent Burmese authors like Shwe U Daung also record their personal experiences, describing the ground as rippling like waves. The Shwemawdaw Pagoda, one of Myanmar’s most iconic religious landmarks, collapses. Reports describe it leaning and crumbling upon impact. The colonial government orders emergency rescue efforts, and doctors from neighboring Yangon (Rangoon at the time) are dispatched to assist. The quake also reaches Yangon, killing nearly 50 people as buildings collapse.
December 3, 1930: The Pyu Earthquake in Bago Region follows just seven months after the Bago quake, registering around 7.3 in magnitude. Over 30 people die, and most brick buildings in the town collapse. Trains at the local station are derailed, and fires break out immediately afterward. Emergency teams from Bago and Taungoo are sent to help. Yangon journalists interview victims and report on the aftermath. Celebrated writer Dagon Shwe Myar records that his family sleep outdoors for days out of fear of aftershocks.
Sagaing Earthquake in 1956
16 July, 1956: The largest earthquake to hit Sagaing before the recent event on March 28 is also triggered by movement along the Sagaing Fault. The estimated magnitude 7.1 quake kills around 30 people, many crushed by collapsed buildings in Sagaing town. The town looks as if it had been bombed, with about 80 percent of buildings destroyed and the other 20 percent cracked and crumbling, according to accounts in Mandalay newspapers such as The People and Mandalay Thuriya.
The Sagaing Bridge’s main steel beams are displaced by about 7.5 centimeters, and train traffic is halted. The impact also flattens buildings in Mandalay city. However, journalists from Mandalay rush to cover the main disaster zone of Sagaing, earning praise for their dedication from Buddhist monk-scholar Shwe Kine Thar. The quake inspires him to research and compile records of ancient earthquakes from royal chronicles, creating a reference-worthy account of Myanmar’s seismic history.
However, the 1956 Sagaing earthquake pales in comparison to last month’s disaster, which claims at least 500 lives in Sagaing city alone and destroys famous pagodas across the region. Underlining the scale of destruction last month is the collapse of the Sagaing Bridge. Meanwhile, Mandalay, only moderately affected in 1956, experiences more than 2,000 deaths and widespread destruction of buildings during the March 28 quake – the most destructive in Myanmar’s seismic history.
Yangon and Bagan Earthquakes in the 1970s
29 September, 1970: Yangon, only mildly shaken by the 1930 Bago disaster, is slammed by a magnitude-7 earthquake 40 years later. Schoolchildren and office workers flee buildings as walls and ceilings crack. The quake damages over 60 structures, including the historic colonial Secretariat, Post and Telegraph Office, Kyokone Pharmaceutical Factory, and Presidential Residence. The Diamond Bud crowning the Shwedagon Pagoda is knocked askew, as gold bells and lights around the stupa fall. Fortunately, no deaths are reported – unlike the 1930 quake, when around 50 people died in Yangon.
Yangon residents evacuate their homes for shelter in single-story buildings on the city’s edge. Though astrologers predict stronger aftershocks, none occur.
Numerous weak foreshocks and aftershocks are credited with reducing the main quake’s impact and averting a far larger disaster. Yangon experiences no further strong earthquakes over the next five decades. However, during the March 28 Sagaing quake, residents of Yangon high-rises are gripped by fear and spend the night in the streets.
8 July 1975: A magnitude-6.8 earthquake strikes Bagan, damaging the historic site’s ancient pagodas and stupas and making global headlines. Tremors ripple through the alluvial soil foundations of the 800-900-year-old monuments, causing significant damage to major temples like Thatbyinnyu, Gawdawpalin, Ananda, and Htilominlo. Fortunately, the quake hits after 6 pm, when most tourists have left the site, so there are no casualties.
With no record of previous major earthquakes in Bagan, this is the most powerful and destructive quake in the area for over 900 years, according to archaeologist U Aung Thaw. Five German tourists visiting the site say the experience reminds them of being caught in bombings in South Vietnam. The quake is accompanied by a massive roaring sound as the ground shakes violently. News agencies scramble to report on the devastation, even visiting the Inya Lake Hotel in Yangon to obtain firsthand accounts from the German tourists.
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
24 December, 2004: The magnitude-9.1 Indian Ocean earthquake near Sumatra, Indonesia, kicks up tsunami waves that reach Myanmar. However, the country suffers relatively minor damage due to its distance from the epicenter, weakening waves as they move north, and the protective buffer of islands and mangroves, according to scientists. The tsunami kills hundreds of thousands across South and Southeast Asia.
Tarlay and Thabeikkyin Earthquakes in 2011 and 2012
24 March, 2011 – A magnitude-6.8 temblor near Tachileik strikes Tarlay, flattening houses and killing 74 people. Some claim the death toll reaches into the hundreds. One person reportedly dies on the Thai side.
11 November, 2012: A magnitude-6.8 quake hits Thabeikkyin, killing 26 people and damaging homes, government buildings, and religious structures. The under-construction Yadanar Theinkha Bridge partially collapses, causing several casualties. Gold mines in Thabeikkyin also collapses, according to local reports.
Chauk Earthquake in 2016
24 August 2016: A magnitude-6.8 temblor strikes Chauk, in central Myanmar, killing at least three people and damaging Bagan temples. Unlike the 1975 Bagan quake, this time the social media era means people witness the destruction of temples in real-time online. Among the 168 pagodas damaged are famous sites like Sulamani, Lawkananda, and Htilominlo.
While small quakes have occurred since, none match the devastating Sagaing earthquake of March 28, considered the worst in Myanmar’s modern history.
The Sagaing Earthquake in 2025
The Sagaing earthquake of March 28, 2025 far outweighs even the infamous Inwa quake of the 19th century, causing unprecedented destruction and loss of life.
In Naypyitaw, the regime’s seat of power, key structures such as the Presidential Palace, Parliament, military offices, residences of former senior military generals, government staff housing, pagodas, sports stadiums, roads, bridges, dams, hospitals, hotels, the National Museum, and the National Library – essentially all major city landmarks – are severely damaged or destroyed.
Regime boss Min Aung Hlaing states that entire city districts need to be rebuilt.
Despite the widespread devastation, the junta continues airstrikes against civilian targets in resistance-held territory while failing to respond promptly or systematically with quake relief efforts.
International search and rescue teams, numbering in the thousands, along with humanitarian aid, and local charity organizations, rush in to help those in need. The junta states on April 24 that nearly 64,000 homes lie in ruins, at a conservative estimate.
Across Myanmar’s long history of natural disasters, both the catastrophic 2008 Cyclone Nargis and the 2025 Sagaing earthquake occur under brutal military dictatorships, exacerbating the suffering, destruction, and loss of life experienced by the people.
