BAGAN: Using brooms and their hands, soldiers and residents of an ancient Myanmar city famous for its historic Budhist pagodas began cleaning up the debris Thursday from a powerful earthquake that shook the region and damaged nearly 200 temples.
\nAt least four people were killed and as many as 185 brick pagodas were damaged in Bagan after a 6.8 magnitude quake struck the area on Thursday.
\nThe tremor was centered about 25 kilometres west of Chauk, just south of Bagan.
\nBagan, also known as Pagan, 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.
\nBagan is home to more than 2,200 structures, including pagodas and temples constructed from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Many are in disrepair while others have been restored in recent years, aided by the United Nations cultural agency Unesco.
\nZaw Naing, a caretaker at one of the city’s pagodas who paints and sells his work to tourists, said he was saddened by the damage – but also worried the quake could endanger the livelihood of many who live there.
\n“I’m very worried … there will be less tourists to Bagan,” Zaw Naing said. “I have three children to take care of.”
\nAs he spoke, soldiers and residents who work in the area could be seen picking up broken red bricks with their bare hands and stuffing them into sacks.
\nOthers swept walkways leading to temples that had been engulfed in huge clouds of dust when the tremor struck; the iconic tips perched on the top of some of the pagodas had collapsed.
\nMyanmocal government officials were also inspecting the area and holding meetings about the damage.
\nOn Thursday, Dr. Myo Thant, general secretary of the Myanmar Earthquake Committee, said other areas apparently were not badly affected.
\nPolice officer Htay Win in Pakokku, about 70 kilometres from the epicentre, said one person there had been killed and one injured.
\n“The person was killed by falling bricks from a building,” he said.
\nThe Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement reported two other deaths in nearby Thitapwe village.
\nUN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was “saddened” by the loss of life and damage from the earthquake and expressed his condolences to the “people and government” of Myanmar.
\nHe said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was in contact with authorities in Myanmar and along with its partners stands ready to support the government and local organisations.
\nVincent Panzani, a staff member in Pakokku for the aid agency Save the Children, said several of his colleagues from the area described the earthquake as the strongest they have experienced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BAGAN: Using brooms and their hands, soldiers and residents of an ancient Myanmar city famous for its historic Budhist pagodas began cleaning up the debris Thursday from a powerful earthquake that shook the region and damaged nearly 200 temples. At least four people were killed and as many as 185 brick pagodas were damaged in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n