DHAKA: Officials from Myanmar's relief and resettlement department confirmed four death, as well as damage to 68 stupas and pagodas in a the quake, which struck Myanamr.

The epicenter was near Chauk, a town on the Ayeyarwady River around 30 kilometers south of Bagan, Myanmar’s most famous archaeological site and home to more than 2,500 Buddhist monuments.

“Some famous pagodas were damaged during the earthquake,” a tourist police officer from Bagan said, adding some of the damage in the major tourist destination was “serious”, reports Myanmar Times.

Soe Win, a regional MP from the township in Magwe region, told the media that the tremors lasted for several minutes.

“There was also some sound as well. A pagoda collapsed in Salay and a building also collapsed,” he said. The death of a 22-year-old in a building collapse near the epicenter was also confirmed.

The USGS estimated that the impact would be “relatively localized” but noted that many buildings in the region are “highly vulnerable” to earthquake shaking.

The quake was also felt in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, China and Laos.

BDST: 1956 HRS, AUG 24, 2016
RR