In Myanmar s Abode of Kings earthquake hits home of military power

NAYPYITAW – On March 27, Myanmar junta leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing stood astride a jeep, touring columns of saluting soldiers as fighter jets shot flares and helicopters buzzed overhead in an annual display of military might in the capital Naypyitaw.

The general was riding high, set to join a regional leaders’ summit in Thailand this week, a rare overseas trip four years after seizing power in a coup that ushered in a ruinous civil war and made him an international pariah.

But within 24 hours, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake reduced parts of Naypyitaw to ruins, dealing a major blow to the home of Myanmar military power in the purpose-built, isolated capital whose Burmese name means “Abode of Kings”.

Without electricity, water or internet, junta officials are working from the lawns beside the ruins of the Foreign Ministry while residents sleep on the streets for fear of aftershocks.

The quake – Myanmar’s strongest in a century – has killed more than 2,000 people and dealt widespread devastation, including in Naypyitaw, a city unveiled in 2005 after being secretly built by previously ruling generals who wanted an impregnable fortress.

The city was built to evoke the grandeur of ancient Buddhist architecture and former royalty, with wide manicured boulevards including a little-used, 20-lane highway and monumental government buildings with colonnades.

It has stood mostly protected from the chaos of civil war that has rocked other parts of the country since the coup: a rare drone attack in 2024 was foiled.

Satellite images and photos published by local media show collapsed hospitals and government housing compounds, while at least one ministry has been severely damaged.

“Water is scarce, food scarcer,” said a source in Naypyitaw who, like others, requested anonymity. “Electrical power is absent. Fuel, medicine, shelter – luxuries now.”

The damage