New York, March 28, 2025 — The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is responding to the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar, causing widespread destruction and an increasing death toll. JDC, which previously responded to natural disasters in Myanmar in 2004 and 2008, will provide food, water, hygiene kits, and other humanitarian and medical supplies in the most impacted areas through our local partner. To support JDC’s efforts in Myanmar, visit: JDC.org/MyanmarEarthquake2025

“We mourn the tragic loss of life in Myanmar and are once again deploying emergency aid to help survivors and respond to emerging needs in these critical hours and days after the earthquake,” said JDC CEO Ariel Zwang. “We are focusing our efforts on the most vulnerable, who are always adversely impacted by disasters, and will determine how we will help communities heal and recover in the aftermath. In this work, we truly put into action the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing a broken world.”

JDC’s longstanding work in Southeast Asia has included disaster response efforts to numerous crises, including the cataclysmic 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami as well as Cyclone Nargis in 2008. JDC teams worked with Israeli and international NGOs to bring humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of victims in Myanmar and surrounding countries.

JDC’s disaster relief programs are funded by special appeals of the Jewish Federations of North America and tens of thousands of individual donors to JDC. JDC’s relief activities are coordinated with U.S. and Israeli relief efforts, and the United Nations, as well as local and international partners.

JDC, which leads the Jewish community response to disaster and international development crises worldwide, has most recently responded to the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco, 2022 flooding in Pakistan, 2021 earthquake in Haiti, the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and Asia, as well as natural disasters in Mozambique, the Bahamas, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Mexico. JDC also leads the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR), made up of 49 mostly North American Jewish organizations that address disasters and development challenges worldwide.