{"id":161762,"date":"2026-06-01T12:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T09:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/?post_type=artikkelit&#038;p=161762"},"modified":"2026-06-01T12:41:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T09:41:48","slug":"echoes-of-the-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"artikkelit","link":"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/en\/latest-news\/articles\/echoes-of-the-earthquake\/","title":{"rendered":"Echoes of the earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<div class=\"block-hero full-width id-block\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-street-15.jpg');\">\n\n\t<div class=\"bg-mobile\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-street-15-1024x683.jpg');\"><\/div>\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"curtain\"><\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"inner-blocks entry-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"is-style-brush\" ><span class=\"bg\">\nEchoes of the earthquake\n<\/span><\/h1><h1 class=\"is-style-brush mobile\" ><span class=\"bg\">Echoes<\/span><span class=\"bg\">of<\/span><span class=\"bg\">the<\/span><span class=\"bg\">earthquake<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Around lunchtime, the ground began to shake and tremble. It all happened very quickly. An earthquake spares nothing: homes, schools, monasteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nature is so powerful that in 80 seconds it can destroy almost anything humans have built over tens or hundreds of years. All that remains is dust and rubble; what were, just moments ago, temples, homes, and classrooms. What also remains is the trauma, not least fears of a new earthquake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When an earthquake strikes a densely populated area, it is difficult at first to obtain accurate information on the number of victims. This was the case in the Mandalay area of Myanmar. Everything was in a state of chaotic confusion; communications with the disaster area were intermittent and aftershocks hampered both the search for the missing and victims and efforts to assist survivors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Hattup\u00e4inen nainen k\u00e4velee osittain romahtaneen rakenuksen edess\u00e4.\" class=\"wp-image-161170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1-267x178.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One building in the Tant Kyi Taung monastery complex partially collapsed when an earthquake struck on March 28, 2025. No funds have yet been secured to repair the building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>A monastery is a refuge for refguees<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you look at a map, the Buddhist monastery in Tant Kyi Taung is located right on the edge of the epicentre of the earthquake. A large pile of bricks and concrete rubble serves as a reminder of the destruction that occurred a year ago. One of the monastery\u2019s larger buildings partially collapsed due to the earthquake. The building housed, among other things, classrooms for Buddhist monks. They remain off-limits, and the monastery has not yet received any funds to repair the damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, life seems normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Life at the Tant Kyi Taung Monastery had already been turned upside down before, just six months prior to the earthquake. Three hundred people moved into the monastery\u2019s grounds after fleeing to Mandalay to escape the armed conflict raging in their home region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of them is 37-year-old mother&nbsp;<strong>Aye Aye Tun<\/strong>. She is standing in a large hall located right next to the collapsed building. The room has high ceilings, and at the back wall sits a large wooden Buddha. Fans whir on the ceiling beams, trying to cut through the warm air that hangs heavy all around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve experienced earthquakes before, but never one like this. I\u2019ve never seen buildings collapse like that,\u201d says Aye Aye Tun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Nainen istuu s\u00e4ngyn reunalla. Naisen edess\u00e4 on p\u00f6yt\u00e4, jossa on ompelukone. \" class=\"wp-image-161291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34-267x178.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-34.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Aye Aye Tun, 37, arrived in Mandalay in the fall of 2024 from the Sagaing Region while fleeing armed conflict.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>The deadliest earthquake in Myanmar in over a century<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Portraits of the monastery\u2019s leading monks hang from the pillars inside the building, and straw mats and sacks filled with bedding are spread out beneath them. Strings tied to the pillars divide the space into sections of about five or six square metres. Mosquito nets hang from the strings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Normally, this place is the heart of the monastery\u2019s spiritual celebrations. Now, the hall serves as a refuge for people fleeing armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aye Aye Tun points to the spot at the front of the hall where she used to sleep with her family. Fearing aftershocks, all 60 people who had been living in this space fled further away from the building, which was in danger of collapsing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The monastery complex protected its residents. Not everyone was quite as lucky. The March 2025 earthquake was the strongest to hit Myanmar in 113 years. The death toll eventually rose to over 5,300, and 11,000 people were reported injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-scroll-content id-block full-width inner-blocks entry-content\">\n    \n    <div class=\"inner-blocks\">\n        \n\n<div class=\"block-scroll-content-slide id-block inner-blocks\">\n    <div class=\"background\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-32.jpg\" alt=\"N\u00e4kym\u00e4 buddhalaisluostarin juhlasalin sis\u00e4lt\u00e4. Saliin on asetettu lattialle patjoja, joilla istuu ihmisi\u00e4.\">\n        \n            <\/div>    \n\n    <div class=\"content-overflow\">\n        <div class=\"slide-content\">\n            <div class=\"container-lg\">\n                <div class=\"row\">\n                    <div class=\"col\">\n                        <div class=\"slide-card inner-blocks \">\n                            \n\n<p>In the autumn of 2024, the banquet hall at Tant Kyi Taung monastery was converted into a shelter for families fleeing armed conflict. The facility is now home to 60 people, most of whom are elderly or children<\/p>\n\n\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>            \n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Driven from her hometown<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The families living on the grounds of the Tant Kyi Taung Buddhist monastery are connected by their shared home village of Mingun. Their home is located in the Sagaing region, where armed conflict has been ongoing for years. Aye Aye Tun and the other families fled to this monastery in the fall of 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe didn\u2019t have time to take almost anything with us. Just the clothes on our backs,\u201d says Aye Aye Tun, a mother of two children aged 7 and 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-quote id-block\">\n    \n          <div class=\"quote-content\">\n        <p class=\"quote-text\">I&#8217;ve experienced earthquakes before, but never one like that. I&#8217;ve never seen buildings collapse like that.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The children are at school elsewhere during the day, which Aye Aye Tun thinks is a good thing. \u201cThey learn a lot more in a regular school than the children here do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Kaksi naista k\u00e4\u00e4rii tupakanlehti\u00e4 ja pieni poika istuu ovensuussa.\" class=\"wp-image-161191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39-267x178.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-39.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Wai Wai Tun (right), who lives as a refugee at the Tant Kyi Taung monastery, supports her children and her elderly mother by rolling traditional tobacco filters. Myo Min Khant, 8, attends the monastery school for two hours a day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Volunteer teachers stepped up in the midst of the crisis<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the monastery courtyard, there is a small classroom where about ten children are already sitting at double desks, waiting for the teacher.&nbsp;<strong>Myo Min Khant<\/strong>, 8, and&nbsp;<strong>Thandar Aung<\/strong>, 11, are of different ages but are both studying third-grade material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m happy when I get to do math. Working with numbers makes me happy,\u201d says Myo Min Khant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Poika hymyilee kameralle. Taustalla istuu vanha nainen. \" class=\"wp-image-161287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-320x480.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18-119x178.jpg 119w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-18.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Myo Min Khant, an 8-year-old third-grader, arrived in Mandalay in the fall of 2024. He enjoys studying in the classroom with the other children. In the background sits his grandmother, Daw Taw, 82.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thandar Aung, on the other hand, enjoys studying English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI like the way the words sound,\u201d the girl says, and lists a series of words she\u2019s learned: pineapple, mango, orange, giraffe, dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The children at the monastery school have received notebooks, pencils, erasers, and drawing paper as part of a project supported by FCA&#8217;s disaster relief fund and <a href=\"https:\/\/actalliance.org\/appeals-rapid-response-funds\/act-appeal-myanmar-earthquake-response-mmr-251\/\">ACT Alliance&#8217;s Myanmar earthquake response.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>School is really only two lessons a day, five days a week. For the children, however, it\u2019s an important time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s nice to hang out and do things with friends,\u201d says Thandar Aung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Opettaja ja oppilas keskustelevat p\u00f6yd\u00e4n \u00e4\u00e4ress\u00e4 oppilaan kouluteht\u00e4vist\u00e4. Taustalla n\u00e4kyy pulpetteka ja niiss\u00e4 istuvia oppilaita. \" class=\"wp-image-161281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42-267x178.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-42.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Volunteer teacher Aye Aye Myat (left) teaches a total of 40 children at the school at Tant Kyi Taung Monastery. Thandar Aung, 11, used to attend a local school. Her favorite subject is English.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Children have a wide range of difficulties concentrating<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Teacher&nbsp;<strong>Aye Aye Myat<\/strong>&nbsp;has noticed that children sometimes have trouble concentrating in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019d rather just play with each other than concentrate,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A major factor behind this is undoubtedly the fact that very few of Aye Aye Myat\u2019s approximately 40 students have ever attended a formal school. Instead, many have been home-schooled. Being refugees has also brought its own set of challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe children\u2019s parents also have a lot on their minds, and because of that, they haven\u2019t always been able to teach their children things like basic hygiene, manners, or how to get along with others. That task has fallen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aye Aye Myat is actually a volunteer teacher at a monastery school and does not receive a salary for her work. She comes from the same community as her students and managed to study at the university for one year before she was forced to flee to Mandalay to escape the armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to Aye Aye Myat, there are two other volunteer teachers at this school, one of whom is a Buddhist monk. FCA has supported the volunteer teachers as part of its post-earthquake emergency aid project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>Volunteering a way to give back to the community<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"320\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-320x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-161276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-320x480.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1-119x178.jpg 119w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daw Cho, a volunteer teacher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>On the other side of Mandalay lies the Yadanar Sani Monastery School. Volunteer teacher&nbsp;<strong>Daw Cho<\/strong>, 54, shows us around the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since retiring, Daw Cho has returned to her home community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI signed up to volunteer because I wanted to do something good for my community,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This monastery school has also taken in children of internally displaced persons who have fled to the city from other parts of the country. In addition, the school has admitted children from the poorest families in the surrounding community, whose parents cannot afford to buy textbooks and other supplies required by public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><strong>The shock of the earthquake turned into a lesson<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Volunteer teacher&nbsp;<strong>Aye Aye Aung<\/strong>, 23, still remembers the terror caused by the earthquake. She saw the building at the entrance to the convent school collapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s been a year, but it still feels like it happened yesterday. I\u2019m afraid the same thing might happen again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Kaksi naista keskustelee iloisesti talon edess\u00e4 portailla. Kuvan jakaa jonkinlainen palkki pystysuunnassa. \" class=\"wp-image-161272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7-267x178.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-tekoja-7.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">University students Mar Mar Phyo (right) and Aye Aye Aung serve as volunteer teachers at the Yadanar Sani monastery school in Mandalay while pursuing their own studies.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There has been a lot of discussion at school about what to do if another earthquake strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNow, as soon as we feel even the slightest tremor, we know to gather all our students right here in the courtyard. We\u2019re better prepared,\u201d says Aye Aye Aung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-scroll-content id-block full-width inner-blocks entry-content\">\n    \n    <div class=\"inner-blocks\">\n        \n\n<div class=\"block-scroll-content-slide id-block inner-blocks\">\n    <div class=\"background\">\n                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/myanmar-street-7.jpg\" alt=\"Pitk\u00e4 puinen silta, jolla k\u00e4velem\u00e4ss\u00e4 ilmisi\u00e4.\">\n        \n            <\/div>    \n\n    <div class=\"content-overflow\">\n        <div class=\"slide-content\">\n            <div class=\"container-lg\">\n                <div class=\"row\">\n                    <div class=\"col\">\n                        <div class=\"slide-card inner-blocks on-right \">\n                            \n\n<p>Built in 1850 and over a kilometer long, the U Bein Bridge in Mandalay is the world\u2019s oldest teak bridge. The bridge was damaged in the March 2025 earthquake but has now reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>            \n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A year ago, they had a stroke of luck. When the earthquake struck, the school\u2019s students and teachers were on their lunch break. During that time, everyone usually retreats to rest during the hottest part of the day. This time, the school principal had given the students permission to take their nap in a different building than usual. The part of the school that collapsed was exactly where the students normally spent their rest period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Six people died, but the principal&#8217;s decision likely saved dozens of lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"block-quote id-block\">\n    \n          <div class=\"quote-content\">\n        <p class=\"quote-text\">&#8220;Now, as soon as we feel even the slightest tremor, we know to gather all our students right here in the courtyard. We&#8217;re better prepared.&#8221;<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In March 2025, Myanmar was struck by the strongest earthquake in 113 years. In the midst of this disaster, those who were already living as internally displaced persons are the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":161163,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"121423,156911,150419,128559,121617,121626","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[48,338],"countries":[292],"article_themes":[313],"class_list":["post-161762","artikkelit","type-artikkelit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-myanmar-en","category-refugees","countries-myanmar","article_themes-refugees"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Echoes of the earthquake - FCA Finn Church Aid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkonulkomaanapu.fi\/en\/latest-news\/articles\/echoes-of-the-earthquake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Echoes of the earthquake - FCA Finn Church Aid\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In March 2025, Myanmar was struck by the strongest earthquake in 113 years. 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