A tremor has struck Mandalay and its surrounding cities, causing damage to historical sites and buildings.
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale with its epicentre inside Myanmar (about four miles east of TadaU), latitude 21.81° N, longitude 96.03 °E, depth of 63 kilometres, about 15 miles south-southwest of Mandalay seismological observatory, was recorded at 03 hours 16 minutes and 35 seconds MST on 15 December 2022, announced the Meteorology and Hydrology Department.
“My bed was shaking early in the morning. I also heard a loud sound. I was frightened. I found out this morning that ancient pagodas in Sagaing, Inwa, and houses in the surrounding cities were damaged,” Ko Htun Lwin Nyein, a resident in Chanmyathazi Township, told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
Some ancient buildings, including a lion statue from the Mingun Stupa in Sagaing, were destroyed in the earthquake, said the locals.
Similarly, a historic Buddhist monastery, the Mei Nu Brick Monastery, located in the ancient historical city of Inwa, has some cracks on it in the aftermath of the earthquake.
“An arm of the lion statue in Mingun was broken. The diamond orb and the vane of the Myatheindan Pagoda landed on the ground.
The quake left the Ninety-tunnel Pagoda with cracks and minor damage. There was also damage in seven monasteries and houses in Mandalay,” an official from the Mandalay Region Fire Services Department commented. — TWA/CT
