Myanmar quake kills four, wrecks temples; Italy toll hits 247
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A 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday in Myanmar left at least four people dead and damaged scores of ancient temples in the old city of Bagan. / Courtesy of YouTube
By Hong Dam-young
A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit central Myanmar Wednesday, killing four people and destroying dozens of ancient temples in the old city of Bagan.
It followed a deadly 6.2-magnitude earthquake in central Italy just hours before that has killed 247 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the Myanmar quake hit near the town of Chauk at a depth of 84 kilometers. It was so strong that it was felt in the country’s largest city, Yangon, 400 miles from the epicenter, and in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, about 620 miles away. It also rattled the Indian city of Kolkata, which temporarily shut its railways to prepare for aftershocks.
Across the border in Bangladesh, at least 20 were injured when panicked people evacuated a building, the Guardian reported.
The death toll includes a woman, 18, and a girl, 6, who were killed in a landslide in Yenangyaung, about 40 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter. Elsewhere, a man died after a tobacco processing plant collapsed.
More than 170 Buddhist temples in Bagan – a well-known archaeological site – were destroyed. The city, about 19 miles from Chauk, also is a popular tourist destination.
“That used to have a top to it,” a tourist, who released video footage of the moment the quake destroyed a temple, said.
“And look at how the whole front of it is just gone. This temple just crumbled. It was like a disaster movie.”
An official from Save the Children in Pakoku, 40 miles from the epicenter, said it was the strongest earthquake his team has felt.
Experts said the quakes in Italy and Myanmar are unrelated.