A powerful quake of 6.8 magnitude struck central Myanmar on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and local authorities said, shaking buildings across the Southeast Asian nation and the region. In addition to the death toll, more details emerged about the status of the country’s Buddhist monuments and the damage they sustained from the quake.
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The city is one of Myanmar’s top tourist attractions, drawing visitors from all over the world who can view a panorama of temples stretching to the horizon flanked by the Irrawaddy River.
People stand outside their offices after they rushed outdoors following tremors in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
President Htin Kyaw flew to Bagan to meet local residents as authorities scrambled to assess the full extent of the damage from the 6.8-magnitude quake that shook buildings across the country and beyond on Wednesday.
The pagodas were built from the 10th to 14th century and revered by a large population of Buddhists in the country.
A powerful natural disaster measuring magnitude 6.8 shook central Myanmar on Wednesday, damaging scores of ancient Buddhist pagodas in the former capital of Bagan, a major tourist attraction, officials said.
Dozens of stupas, pagodas, temples and other buildings were damaged and in some cases collapsed, according to witnesses and Myanmar’s Relief and Resettlement Department. “Many people were scared and they ran out of the buildings”, said Maung Maung Kyaw, a local official of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Chauk.
An official said several temples in Bagan were severely damaged.
At least 94 brick pagodas in Bagan were damaged, the Ministry of Religious and Cultural Affairs said in a statement.
According to updated report, the quake destroyed 241 pagodas in the Bagan region. Another quake measuring 3.1 on the Richter Scale, with the epicentre in Karbi Anglong, shook the state at 5.30 am on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of damage in either country. Officials were still surveying the damage, reported Channel News Asia. However, there was no report of major damage.
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The recent quake in Myanmar occurred 90 kilometers below ground level, which caused less damage compared to the 6.2 magnitude quake in Italy that occurred at only five kilometers below ground level.
