Urgent prayer: Myanmar earthquake

Please urgently pray for all affected by the earthquakes that have devastated parts of Myanmar, Thailand and China yesterday.

Just before 1pm (local time), two back-to-back earthquakes struck Myanmar. The first earthquake, with magnitude 7.7, centred around Sagaing City, the capital of the north western Sagaing region of Myanmar. The earthquake has had a severe impact on Myanmar, and also on neighbouring countries Thailand and China.  

Media, including the BBC, report that hundreds are feared dead as a result. Many buildings and bridges have also collapsed, including the 91-year-old Ava Bridge, also known as the Old Sagaing Bridge. The scale of the damage, and the number of casualties, are not yet known.  
 

Open Doors local partner shares prayer requests

“Please pray for the safety of people in the midst of natural disaster and war,” says Daisy Htun*, an Open Doors local partner in the region. Ongoing conflict was already making the country extremely volatile, particularly for religious minorities.

  She was able to give an update on Open Doors partners and their communities: “Landline communication is disrupted, and locals are facing challenges in communicating with each other. The building of our local partners who take care of children is damaged but, hopefully, there are no casualties. A church in Naypyitaw is also damaged. One of our training sessions finished just before the earthquake hit the area. Our partners living in apartment buildings are evacuating for safety.”
 

State of emergency

Following the earthquake, Myanmar’s military government declared six areas in a state of emergency: Mandalay Division, Bago Division, Shan State, Magway Division, Sagaing Division, and capital city Naypyitaw.

“So far, we know that the Mandalay airport has also been damaged. In Shan State, we have heard that a church was affected,” shares Daisy Htun*. “In Naypyitaw, the intensity was very high – one church was damaged, and we heard that the pastor and two deacons were hurt. In Sagaing Division, we haven’t yet heard from our partners, but this is the conflict zone. In most of the areas here, the internet is still cut, so we are not able to receive information quickly.”

She adds: “Shan State is controlled by ethnic armed groups, and there are already many internally displaced people there brought about by the war. If the buildings have already been damaged by the earthquake, especially in Aung Ban City and Taungoo City, then more people could have probably been displaced.”

A local pastor shared photos of the impact of the earthquake on the building where his church gathers every Sunday
 

Please keep praying

Daisy continues to ask for prayers. “The people right now, believers and non-believers alike, are in a state of hopelessness, thinking of their own survival. For the Christians in Myanmar, those who have already been affected by the war, and those who have been displaced, this may have a compounding effect – they have already experienced the coup, there is economic hardship, and now, a natural disaster has befallen them.

  “If God can use the crows to bring Elijah food in the wilderness, then God can use anything to bring comfort and help to them. Let us pray that they are able to experience God’s goodness and remember that God does not abandon them. Pray too for the churches in Myanmar in areas that have not been affected – that they will have compassion and be able to extend a helping hand to their brothers and sisters affected by this earthquake.”

Despite the heaviness, Daisy is comforted by your prayers. “I share to believers when I meet them that, even though things are terrible and it’s easy to be isolated, we are not alone, and that there are people around the world praying for us.”

Please join in praying for all those affected by this earthquake.

*Name changed for security reasons