Residents of northern Myanmar braced themselves Monday for aftershocks from Sunday’s deadly earthquake. State television continued to issue warnings about keeping a distance from old structures and damaged buildings. As of Monday, the death toll stood at 13 with another 40 people injured and an unknown number of missing.
The 6.8 magnitude temblor struck at 7:42 a.m. local time near the town of Shwebo. The epicenter was located about 72 miles south of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city. No fatalities and very little damage was reported in Mandalay. Most of the major damage was concentrated in nearby mining areas like Thabeikyin, Sintku township and Mogok. Reports indicate that hundreds of buildings, including homes, government buildings and Buddhist pagodas, were damaged or completely destroyed. Several mines and a partially constructed bridge collapsed.
The collapse of the bridge, which spanned the Irrawaddy River to connect Sintku and Kyaukmyaung, was responsible for at least four deaths and over two dozen injuries. All of the victims are thought to construction workers.
In Kyaukmyaung, two monasteries collapsed and killed at least two people. On the other side of the bridge in Sintku, several miners died when a gold mine collapsed. Myanmar Vice President Sai Mauk Hkam visited both areas on Monday.
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