IT took three nerve-racking hours after a powerful earthquake struck on March 28 before Mr Hein Htet Zaw could get through to his family in Myanmar.

The 27-year-old was in Peninsula Plaza shopping centre – dubbed Singapore’s Little Myanmar – when he heard that his home city Mandalay had been rocked by the 7.7-magnitude temblor.

“I was very worried, very scared the earthquake had killed my family,” Mr Hein told The Straits Times, adding that his loved ones were very lucky to have escaped unscathed.

But his heart is broken over the extensive damage in his home town, he said, a sentiment echoed by many of his countrymen when ST visited Peninsula Plaza on March 29.

A Burmese quality specialist who wanted to be known only as Ms Aung said: “It is already difficult to access essential needs in Myanmar, so now with the earthquake, it is worse. The hospitals are overwhelmed, and it is very difficult for rescue teams to reach there.”

Myanmar has been embroiled in a civil war since 2021 after the military staged a coup, and this is likely to complicate rescue operations. It has since put out a rare call for aid from any country.

Though all her kin are unharmed, Ms Aung, 29, said she was worried and sad for her compatriots. She plans to donate money for aid.

The disaster on March 28 killed more than 1,600 people, injured over 3,400, and downed critical infrastructure in Myanmar. The figures are expected to jump, with the US Geological Survey estimating that the death toll could exceed 10,000, apart from severe economic losses.

Tremors were felt in Vietnam and China, while a state of emergency was declared in Thai capital Bangkok, where at least nine people died.

Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, lies close to the epicentre and was the worst hit. Ms Wilt Yee, who works as a cleaner in Singapore, has been posting near-constant updates on the precarious situation on Facebook for her friends and family in Mandalay.

The 39-year-old said she plans to give $1,000 to monasteries to help with relief work. Her friends here, including a Singaporean, have already passed her $300.

Meanwhile, a caregiver based in Singapore said her father had dashed home from his workplace in Mandalay to look for her mother, who has walking difficulties. The woman, who declined to give her name and age, said her parents now have to cope with limited water and electricity supplies.

“I wish I was back in Myanmar with my family. But I can only get updates through them,” she said.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2025