Earthquake has destroyed numerous Buddhist pagodas in Myanmar

Thousands of religious buildings were destroyed in the severe earthquake that struck Buddhist-majority Myanmar on Friday.

More than 2,000 monasteries and pagodas in the Sagaing region alone are said to have collapsed completely or partially, the International Buddhist Education Centre (IBEC) said in a post on Facebook on Monday.

The region is particularly affected by the 7.7 magnitude quake, with at least 2,000 fatalities.

IBEC described it as a "great loss for Buddhism" and said that it was one of the most severe earthquakes ever in Sagaing.

Reports indicate that many Buddhist structures and Buddha statues in the second-largest city, Mandalay, as well as in the famous World Heritage site of Bagan, have also been damaged. However, the exact extent is still unclear, especially in Bagan.

The World Monuments Fund stated that information is currently being gathered, but the information situation in the civil war-torn country is challenging.

Along with the temples of Angkor in Cambodia and Borobodur on Java, Bagan is among the most important archaeological sites in all of South-East Asia.

Already in 2016, many dozens of the more than 3,000 structures from the 9th to 13th centuries were damaged in a 6.8-magnitude quake. The temple city has been part of UNESCO's World Heritage since 2019.

Almost 90% of the population of Myanmar are Buddhists.