Save the Children is responding to a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake which struck Myanmar on Friday 28th March, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. It is the strongest earthquake to hit Myanmar in a century.

A week on, thousands of children and families are homeless and have nothing. They urgently need food, water and shelter.

More than 2,000 people have died and thousands more injured – many are children. These figures are only likely to rise, as many are feared to be trapped under the rubble.

Our teams are moving quickly to launch an emergency response to ensure children and their families can get the support they need. They need urgent help now.

Save the Children has been working in Myanmar since 1995 and is ready to act alongside local partners.

Children's desperation, in their own words

Children are uniquely vulnerable at a time like this. Some are separated from their families or are traumatised by loss. They have been through the most terrifying experience.

"I just ran. I barely escaped," says Yoon May*, earthquake survivor in Myanmar, age 16. "The moment I stepped outside, bricks started falling from the ceiling. We all ran to the open field near our house."

"I haven’t been able to sleep at all. We have no water, no electricity."

We are in a race against time.

*Name changed to protect identities

What we're doing to help children

Our teams are moving quickly to respond to the emergency – over the coming days and weeks, we will work alongside local partners to scale up critical support to children across the worst impacted areas. While we are working around the clock to finalise our response plan, activities will likely include:

- Distributing essential emergency relief items

- Providing cash to families so they can buy food, medicine and other essentials.

- Providing access to clean water, essential hygiene and sanitation items and health services

- Providing psychological support to children and their caregivers to help them overcome the traumatic experience they've been through.