Following a 7.7 magnitude earthquake and 6.7 aftershock last Friday, Myanmar’s cultural heritage sites are at risk.
One of Asia’s poorest countries, Myanmar is still facing an ongoing civil war that sparked by a military coup in 2021. This makes it difficult to receive both reliable information and relief aid, with a weak infrastructure leaving the nation ill-equipped to handle major natural disasters. However, Min Aung Hlaing, who heads the military junta in control of the government, has appealed for international assistance.
While the death tolls are still being counted, an estimated 10,000 people are believed to have died, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated on Friday. The USGS also issued a red alert for the country due to “high casualties and extensive damage.”
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As of Saturday morning, the Myanmar government reported almost 400 lives lost, along with damage to roughly 3,000 buildings, including 150 mosques and pagodas. Images circulating online indicate significant damage to the country’s heritage and religious sites, which were already at risk amid the ongoing conflict.
The most significant damage to cultural heritage sites appears to have occurred in and around Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city and the home of many ancient monasteries and palaces. The city saw damage to part of a historic royal palace built in the 19th century. A large pagoda erected along the palace walls now juts outward at a sharp angle, while another section of the walls were left entirely crumbled.
The 200-year-old Me Nu Brick Monastery, located southwest of Mandalay, appears to be decimated. Nearby, southeast of Mandalay, a video captured the collapse of the tower on the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda, an important Buddhist place of worship, late last week.
To the west of Mandalay, the five-story New Masoeyein Monastery gave way, leaving dozens of Buddhist monks who lived there without a place to sleep that night, according to the New York Times. Just 70 miles from the epicenter, in Pindaya, lie the remains of Buddhist monuments known as stupas, golden spires, and countless red bricks.
Meanwhile, photographs captured by the Associated Press show damaged pagodas in the nation’s capital, Naypyitaw.
Sagaing, just ten miles from the quake’s epicenter, is not far from the UNESCO World Heritage site Bagan. While it is unclear if there was damage to the ancient city’s 11th-century monuments, Bagan was significantly damaged in the country’s last major earthquake in 2016.
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) released a statement saying that it is continuing to gather information from both Myanmar and the neighboring country of Thailand. The earthquake, which also shook Thailand, resulted in the loss of ten lives in the collapse of high-rise buildings in Bangkok, spurring fears that dozens more are dead and injured in the region.
WMF confirmed that the famous reclining Buddha in Bangkok temple Wat Pho sustained some damage, but will need further assessment to understand the full impact.
While injuries were also reported in China, along a border shared with Myanmar, there was no significant damage to cultural heritage sites.
The extent of the damage and loss continues to be assessed, as rescue teams from China, Russia, and the United Nations head to the area.