Myanmar sends police, soldiers to protect ancient temples damaged in quake
Myanmar sent truckloads of soldiers and squadrons of police to protect and rebuild centuries-old Buddhist pagodas around the ancient capital of Bagan on August 25, a day after at least 187 of the brick temples were damaged in a powerful earthquake.
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The Fire Department and authorities scrambled to assess the full extent of the damage from the 6.8 magnitude quake that shook buildings across the Southeast Asian country on August 24.
But the overall damage and impact on local residents appeared limited, government officials said. Most reports were of damage to the famed pagodas in central Myanmar, particularly around Bagan, and smaller, basic buildings.
Red Cross officials said they received reports of three people who died in the tremor - two children and one resident from two towns close to the epicenter.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck near the town of Chauk, south of Bagan, about 175 km (110 miles) southwest of the country's second city Mandalay at around 5 p.m. (1030 GMT). Tremors were felt as far away as Thailand, Bangladesh and India.
