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| Bagan is home to more than 2,000 ancient temples and pagodas. // Photo by Nithid/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images |
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake has struck central Myanmar, damaging at least 65 ancient Buddhist pagodas in the country’s former capital of Bagan, which is a major tourist attraction, the LA Times reports. The earthquake was centered approximately 15 miles west of Chauk, which is west of Bagan, fairly deep below the surface. Other areas were not badly affected by the earthquake, and at this time there have been no reported deaths.
The Guardian has highlighted a video shot by a person who identified themselves as a visiting tourist:
LIVE on #Periscope: Earthquake in Myanmar, damaged temples, no one hurt here https://t.co/WcyTdzIiuE
— Dave (@DaveInOsaka) August 24, 2016
Bagan is located on an active earthquake zone, although it does not regularly experience earthquakes of this magnitude, according to The Guardian’s report. In all the area holds more than 2,000 temples and pagodas, some of which are hundreds of years old.
According to The Bangkok Post, the earthquake shook high rises as far away as Bankgok, although no injuries were reported at this time.
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