Devastating Myanmar earthquake seen as omen of military regime’s demise

Mandalay, Myanmar – Two years ago, as Cyclone Mocha whipped towards the western coast of Myanmar, packing wind speeds of some 280 kilometres per hour (175mph) and threatening disaster, the country’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing appeared unconcerned.

Despite predictions of widespread destruction as the cyclone made landfall, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and most of his cabinet were in the east of the country consecrating a Buddhist temple.

The Irrawaddy magazine described the general’s role in the elaborate ceremonies that weekend in Shan State’s Keng Tung as another example of his obsession with traditional rituals to ward off bad luck and misfortune.

As millions braced for disaster, Min Aung Hlaing “was busy performing yadaya in the hope of enjoying long rule”, the magazine said, using the Burmese term that refers to superstitious, magical rituals.

“Those consecration ceremonies are full of yadaya, and aim for nothing more than to seek divine blessings and avert misfortune,” the magazine said.

On Friday, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake left Mandalay and Sagaing cities in central Myanmar in ruins, with more than 2,700 people confirmed dead as of Tuesday.

In deeply superstitious Myanmar, many are viewing the catastrophic earthquake as divine judgement on their military rulers, and an omen of Min Aung Hlaing’s demise.

Min Aung Hlaing arrives to deliver a speech during a ceremony to mark Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, March 27, 2025 [AFP]

‘Downfall is not far away’

“There are omens behind this earthquake,” an astrologer in Mandalay told Al Jazeera.

“Since it happened on a Friday with a new moon, rice and water resources will become scarce, and commodity prices will rise further,” said the astrologer, who cannot be identified due to security concerns.

“There will be major changes in the government’s leadership. Wars may escalate. A change in leadership means that Min Aung Hlaing will, in some way, have to step down from power,” the astrologer said.

The earthquake as a portent of misfortune will not be lost on the military chief, the astrologer said, adding that it is common knowledge that “Min Aung Hlaing strongly believes in astrology and superstitions”.

The quake struck a day after Min Aung Hlaing presided over the annual pageantry of Armed Forces Day, which was held as the country’s brutal civil war grinds on for a fourth year, and more than 6,000 civilians have been killed by the regime’s armed forces.

“He essentially rules the country based on astrological predictions. It can even be said that he governs the nation through astrological means,” the astrologer said.

“However, according to the signs of this earthquake, his downfall is not far away.”

Min Aung Hlaing is not the country’s first military leader to put his fate in the spirit world to steer an auspicious path through Myanmar’s turbulent recent history.

General Ne Win, who seized power in a military coup in 1962 and ruled until 1988, is widely reported to have removed the local kyat currency notes of 25, 35 and 75 denominations and replaced them with notes of 45 and 90 denominations, all on the advice of his soothsayers. Apparently, Ne Win believed nine was his lucky number. The denominations of 45 and 90 were divisible by nine and, on their own, added up to nine.

What may have brought good fortune to Ne Win brought economic hardship to millions in then-Burma, who lost out when their hard-earned old notes were demonetised and made mostly worthless.

Under the rule of equally superstitious military strongman Than Shwe, authorities in 2007 instructed farmers in an area north of the commercial capital Yangon to plant sunflowers, The Irrawaddy reported at the time. The initiative was apparently based on a superstition that the cultivation of sunflowers would support the military regime’s long life. The Burmese word for sunflower is Nay Kyar, which can be translated as “long stay “, the magazine noted.

Min Aung Hlaing has run out of luck, said a retired member of Myanmar’s military who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, adding the earthquake is a sign that “nature itself is now punishing him”.

“The earthquake is a sign of his downfall,” the officer said.

A man donates money to an injured novice Buddhist monk on April 1, 2025, at Mandalay General Hospital following a strong earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar [Reuters]

Astrology plays a key role in Myanmar society, the officer explained, where education levels are low in some sectors, including among the military’s ranks.

“Soldiers who are sent to the front lines are given protective amulets and sacred wristbands. They are brainwashed into believing that these astrological protections will keep them from dying in battle,” said the retired officer.

Since the army seized power, he added, Myanmar has suffered “immense destruction and loss”.

“I truly believe that nature is now delivering its retribution upon him,” he said.

‘I’m still breathing, but inside I feel dead’

Astrological predictions of the demise of Min Aung Hlaing’s power have been shared on social media platforms since the earthquake.

In a Burmese language page on Facebook, user Zaw Moe Kyaw said it had been predicted by an astrologer, since midway through last year, that Mandalay would be destroyed and that it would one day resemble cities in war-torn Syria.

The same astrologer had correctly forecast that Donald Trump would win the United States presidency and that Yangon also needed to be cautious, wrote Zaw Moe Kyaw, adding that the astrologer in question had reiterated his dire warnings in November.

“Although these statements were not made public at the time, they were shared within a close circle, and there is evidence to support them,” Zaw Moe Kyaw said.

“He predicted that if Min Aung Hlaing steps down voluntarily, both the military and the country will be spared from further destruction. However, if he refuses to leave, he and everyone around him will suffer total devastation,” he said.

“According to this prediction, this will be the final collapse of military dictatorship in Myanmar.”

Prophecies about a future Myanmar free of military rule were of little comfort to the survivors of the earthquake in Mandalay on Tuesday.

With the 72-hour survival window for rescuing people having closed on Monday, resignation has started to set in that loved ones and friends will not be found alive even if they had survived the massive shocks and were trapped under rubble.

Ko Lin Maw spoke to Al Jazeera on Sunday at his toppled house beneath which his mother and two sons were buried. By then it was 48 hours after the earth had shaken Mandalay to its foundations.

He explained how there were no rescue workers to help move the shattered masonry or listen for signs of life inside the ruins of his home.

On Tuesday, with his eyes vacant of any emotion other than pain and barely able to speak between silent tears, Ko Lin Maw told Al Jazeera of the discovery of his family.

The stench from the decomposing bodies of his sons and mother was “overwhelming”, he said, when a rescue team finally arrived amid the stifling heat on Monday night and helped in their retrieval.

“I’m still breathing, but inside I feel dead,” he told Al Jazeera.

He was still critical of the authorities’ slow and ineffectual response to the disaster, saying his family would likely still be alive if the country had leaders who were accountable to the public.

Now all he can do is hope that those who failed so many in the aftermath of the disaster will be accountable one day – if not in this life, then the next.

“I hope the spirits of my family find justice,” he said.