Myanmar weighs damage after earthquake rattles Bagan pagodas
25 Aug 2016 11:28 AM IST25 Aug 2016 11:28 AM IST
The government is also sending teams from its culture and geology departments to assess the damage.
Officials picked through the wreckage of toppled spires and crumbling temple walls in Myanmar's ancient capital Bagan after a powerful earthquake rattled the top tourist destination, leaving three dead.- Bagan's vast expansive of temple ruins -- which make for a staggering sunset vista -- have survived wars, earthquakes and centuries of tropical sun.
- In recent years, as the country undergoes a democratic transition and opens up following decades of isolationist junta rule, UNESCO has worked directly with the government to safeguard the monuments.
- Experts said the haphazard renovation work, much of it hastily done with modern materials, significantly altered the original architecture and design of some monuments.
- The UNESCO office in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, has deployed experts to assess the damage, said office head Sardar Umar Alam.
- I heard sounds after I paid homage at a pagoda. There were foreign tourists there as well,' said Khin Maung Toe, a Myanmar man who was visiting Bagan for the first time when the earthquake struck.
- Police blocked tourists from entering Bagan's vast field of some 2,500 Buddhist monuments -- among the country's most venerated religious sites -- as workers cleared piles of bricks and swept the grounds.
- Clouds of dust settled over the damaged pagodas as officials took stock of the destruction caused by the 6.8 magnitude quake, which struck just south of the famous archaeological site.
Officials picked through the wreckage of toppled spires and crumbling temple walls in Myanmar\'s ancient capital Bagan after a powerful earthquake rattled the top tourist destination, leaving three dead.
The government is also sending teams from its culture and geology departments to assess the damage.
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