With the earthquake’s epicenter near historic cities Sagaing and Mandalay, hundreds of religious buildings, heritage and cultural sites were destroyed, threatening the preservation of cultural heritage and community wellbeing.

The latest maps from the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) assess probable damage at many UNESCO World Heritage and Tentative List sites using very high resolution satellite imagery.

• Innwa (Ancient Cities of Upper Myanmar) – 18 damaged / 2 possibly damaged buildings inside the site, 25 damaged / 5 possibly damaged in its buffer zone, plus damaged southern wall.
• Mandalay Palace & city walls – 17 damaged / 9 possibly damaged structures and multiple damages in the moat wall.
• Amarapura – 8 damaged within the cultural site including two towers (inset 1), the Shwe Lin Pin Pagoda (inset 2) and another pagoda on the south-eastern wall.
• Sagaing – 760 damaged buildings within the cultural site, including several pagodas such as Ma Shi Khana Pagoda. No damage detected on the Sitagu International Buddhist Academy.
• Mingun – 4 damaged buildings within the cultural site, including the Hsinbyume Pagoda, Mingun Pahtodawgyi and Sat Taw Yar Pagoda.
• Bagan World Heritage Site (Component 7) – no visible damage
• Shwe Kyaung Monastery (Konbaung period wooden monastery) – no visible damage
• Sri Ksetra (Pyu Ancient Cities) – no visible damage

Please Note: This is a preliminary analysis based on satellite imagery and has not yet been validated in the field. UNOSAT welcomes ground feedback to refine the assessment.

Download the maps on MIMU website.