In the hours and days that followed the earthquake, our photographers stepped into the dust, the silence, and the chaos. Some were there as buildings fell. Others arrived to witness what was left behind. What they saw cannot be forgotten. What they heard still echoes.
People inspect the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay on March 28, 2025, after a powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near the city at approximately 12:50 p.m local time. Mandalay is Myanmar's second-largest city and home to 1.2 million people.
Photo by Ko C
I used to take photos of beautiful landscapes. Now, I’m capturing collapsed homes, pagodas, and historic buildings destroyed by the earthquake. It deeply saddens and shakes me emotionally. I never imagined I would end up photographing this kind of destruction. I watched buildings crumble right in front of me, people running for their lives, some jumping from upper floors in desperation, others buried beneath the rubble, and some who never made it out.” - Ko C
A man walks past collapsed buildings in the downtown areas of Mandalay on March 28, 2025. More than 120,000 homes were damaged across the country, of which 48,834 collapsed, along with over 1,000 government buildings.
Photo by Zide
The whole day I heard whatever I go...
“Mother … What is wrong?”
A boy was crying over the phone.
A woman telling to her mother, “grand daughter was gone”.
Others just sat silently beside the bodies, covering them with cloths and staring into the distance.
It was hell. Truly.
As soon as I arrived at the hospital, it felt like the world was collapsing. It was a scene straight out of a movie; something I’d only ever seen on screen. People (or rather, patients) were arriving one after another. The emergency room was already overwhelmed. The hospital’s parking lot was filled with the sounds of people shouting, moaning, and crying. There were only a few doctors on duty, so things were chaotic. At one point, I saw a doctor performing CPR on a child, trying to save her life. I couldn’t take a photo then. I just stood there, praying the child would survive, wondering if there was anything I could do to help. But while I was watching, the doctor eventually gave up, and the child’s body went limp. At that moment, just one shot, I managed to take a photo. I had a feeling the child wouldn’t make it. And then I broke down. That day at the hospital, all I could do was take photos and cry. That was the only thing I could do.
Collapsed buildings seen in Mandalay on March 28, 2025.
Photo - Zide
A car is crushed under a collapsed building in
Mandalay on March 29, 2025.
Photo - Zide
A collapsed “Myork Sin Kyone mosque” seen in Mandalay on March 29, 2025. More than 700 worshippers were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country at Friday prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan.
Photo by Zide
Collapsed pagoda which is located in Mahamuni Pagoda compound seen in Mandalay on March 31, 2025. More than 8,300 monasteries, nunneries and pagodas were destroyed by the quake.
Photo by Zide
People walk next to the collapsed Mahamuni pagoda western entrance seen in Mandalay on March 28, 2025.Maha Muni pagoda is one of the ancient pagoda in this country and the entrance has two famous lions gate before. More than 8,300 monasteries, nunneries and pagodas were destroyed by the quake.
Photo by Zide
Collapsed buildings seen in the downtown areas of Mandalay on March 28, 2025. Photo by Zide
A man sleeps on the platform next to the damaged Mandalay Palace during sunset in Mandalay on April 3, 2025. Photo by Zide
People pass a collapsed building during the sunrise in Mandalay on April 1, 2025. Photo by Linkar
A couple sit next to the damaged Mandalay Palace during sunset in Mandalay on April 2, 2025. Photo by Zide
“When I arrived, days had already passed since the earthquake, but the damage — both visible and invisible — lingered. The city was physically broken, and the people seemed emotionally numb. Looking at their faces, I couldn’t sense much feeling — neither sorrow nor relief. I keep wishing to see emotion in people again — any kind of emotion. Sadness, joy, even anger. Because perhaps what’s most haunting isn’t the destruction itself, but the emptiness it leaves behind. The absence of feeling.”
— Go Dark
A collapsed “Mingalar Amyork Bone Oh “mosque seen in Bone Oh village, Amarapura town in Mandalay on April 1, 2025. More than 700 worshippers were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country at Friday prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan. Photo by Zide
Muslims offer morning prayers to start the Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan on a road near destroyed mosques in Mandalay on March 31, 2025. More than 700 worshippers were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country at Friday prayer time during the holy month of Ramadan. Photo by Linkar
A boy walks inside the collapsed Haji Lin Mosque in the village of Bone Oh within Amarapura Township, Mandalay region on April 1, 2025. Photo by Zide
A man walks on the damaged road in Mandalay on April 12, 2025. Photo by Linkar
The general view of the debris of buildings damaged in a fire after the earthquake in Sein Pan Yat in Mandalay on April 12, 2025. More than 400 houses burned down after a fire broke out following the earthquake in the Sein Pan area of Mandalay.
Photo by Zide
A man walks in the debris of buildings damaged in a fire after the earthquake in Sein Pan Yat in Mandalay on April 12, 2025. More than 400 houses burned down after a fire broke out following the earthquake in the Sein Pan area of Mandalay. Photo by Zide
People collect goods from the destroyed house in Tada-U Township in Mandalay Region on April 8, 2025. Photo by GoDark
A large crack seen in the ground along Myo Patt Lan linking Mandalay and Sagaing Region on April 2, 2025. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, analysis showed dramatic shifts in the landscape, with some areas along the fault moving over 3 meters (10 feet) in opposite directions.
Photo by Linkar
“At first, I was torn between two instincts. Whether to help people or document the moment through my camera. In that moment, I decided that capturing the raw emotions of the people around me would serve a purpose. The expressions, fear, hope, confusion, and strength told the real story.”
—Zide
A historical Kuanyin Si Chinese temple was damaged by earthquake on April 1, 2025 in Mandalay. The Kuanyin Si Temple is a historic Chinese Buddhist temple located on Chinatown Road in Amarapura, Myanmar. Built in 1,773 during the reign of King Singu, it stands as one of the oldest Chinese Buddhist temples in the country. Photo by Zide
A collapsed Daw Gyam Phaya Su pagodas seen in the ancient city of Inwa ( Ava) town, Mandalay region on April 12, 2025. Inwa( formerly Ava) ,an ancient City of Myanmar ( 14th to 19th Century), experienced significant destruction, with approximately 75% of its historic structures damaged or destroyed. Photo by Linkar
Workers wearing hazmat suits spray disinfectant to sterilise the rubble of a collapsed building in Mandalay on April 2, 2025. Photo by Linkar
People walk past a damaged Buddha statue surrounded by debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay on April 12, 2025. Photo by Linkar
General views of damaged pagodas in Kyaw Aung San Htar temple in Amrapura, Mandalay region on April 15, 2025. Photo by Zide
The Four-stories monastery collapsed during the earthquake seen at the Inwa town, Mandalay on April 5, 2025. The Four Stories Monastery was a significant historical and religious structure that was originally constructed in 1,601 by King Nyang Ram, the founder of the Second Inwa (Ava) Dynasty. Photo by Zide
The Four-stories monastery collapsed during the earthquake seen on April 12, 2025. The Four Stories Monastery was a significant historical and religious structure, that was originally constructed in 1,601 by King Nyang Ram, the founder of the Second Inwa Dynasty.
Photo by Linkar
Damaged Buddha statues surrounded by debris of a collapsed building seen in Mandalay on April 12, 2025.
Photos by Linkar
A collapsed pagoda seen in Kyaw Aung San Htar Monastery in Mandalay region on April 15, 2025. Across Myanmar, over 5,275 pagodas were reported destroyed.
Photo by Zide
This exhibition is a call to remember and a call to act. We are not only showing what was lost but what still endures. Community resilience and the will to survive.
To see beyond the headlines and statistics, and into the faces, stories, and struggles that continue long after the tremors stopped. We invite you to carry these stories with you.
- To stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.
- To speak when they are silenced. - To care when they are ignored.
- To act when others turn away.
Let this not be end of your attention.
Let it be the beginning of your connection.