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March 30, 2025 | 10:07 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The earthquake that struck Myanmar on Friday, March 28, 2025, caused damage to historical and religious sites across the country. Several pagodas, Buddhist monasteries and centuries-old monuments were damaged. According to video from witnesses verified by the New York Times, some of the sites were reduced to rubble.
According to the New York Times, the Myanmar government said Saturday morning that more than 3,000 buildings had been damaged, including about 150 mosques and pagodas. One of the cultural sites damaged by the quake was the Me Nu Brick Monastery southwest of Mandalay, the last capital of the Burmese kingdom. The 200-year-old building was largely destroyed. Rows of the building’s distinctive balconies had collapsed around a large interior wall.
Me Nu Brick Monastery, also known as Maha Aung Mye Bon Zan Monastery, was built by Nanmadaw Me Nu, the Queen Mother of King Bagyidaw in 1818. It was donated to the royal abbot Nyaunggan Sayardaw U Po, who then presented it to Nyaunggan Sayardaw U Bok 2. The monastery was also damaged by an earthquake in 1838 but was repaired in 1873 by Queen Sin Phyu Ma Shin.
11th-Century Pagoda Collapses
Another historic building that was destroyed by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake was the Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda in Mon state. Video showed the ornate golden spire collapsing, amidst screams from people.
The Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda is a revered Buddhist site in the country. According to Mindtrip, the pagoda is believed to have been built in the 11th century during the reign of King Anawrahta. The pagoda is renowned for its impressive architecture and the sacred relics it houses. The pagoda complex includes several smaller stupas and shrines, each adorned with intricate carvings and decorations. Visitors often come to pay their respects, participate in religious ceremonies and enjoy the serene atmosphere of the site. The pagoda is especially crowded during Buddhist festivals.
In Pindaya, Shan state, Buddhist monuments known as stupas that adorned a large monastery collapsed, and cracks ripped through the foundations of other surviving buildings. Around the stupa, the remains of golden spires and red bricks littered the ground. In one witness video, onlookers wailed as the top of the monastery’s largest stupa collapsed in an aftershock.
“Pindaya has had several earthquakes before but not as strong as today,” said Tun Tun Aye, an administrator of the monastery’s Facebook page. He said the stupas are believed to be more than a century old, and he did not know how the monastery would be restored.
It was not just pagodas and other Buddhist sites that suffered heavy damage. Photos shared by the Burma Human Rights Network showed collapsed minarets and domes of mosques in several parts of the country. Online news outlet Mizzima, citing local officials and residents, reported that 490 people were killed in the mosque collapse on Friday.
The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, centered in Myanmar's Sagaing region near Mandalay, damaged buildings not only in the country but also in neighboring Thailand. Myanmar sits on the boundary between two tectonic plates and is one of the world's most seismically active countries.
NEW YORK TIMES | MIZZIMA | BBC
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