An aid worker in Sagaing Township of Sagaing Region told DVB that nearly 600 bodies have been recovered and over 1,000 were injured during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28. He added that the death toll is still rising. Search and rescue operations were shifted to relief and recovery efforts on April 6.

“People in Sagaing are afraid of staying inside their homes but in the makeshift shelters, not only because of the earthquake and the aftershocks, but also because of the rain,” a rescue worker in Sagaing told DVB. Sagaing is located 68 miles (109 km) east of the region’s capital Monywa and 14 miles (22 km) west of Mandalay. 

The National Unity Government (NUG) reported on Monday that 5,324 religious buildings, including Buddhist temples, Christian churches, and Islamic mosques, were either partially damaged or completely destroyed as a result of the earthquake in the six hardest hit regions, including Sagaing, Mandalay, Naypyidaw, Magway, Bago and southern Shan State.

“Rescue groups are now clearing the collapsed buildings with heavy machinery. There have been reconstruction works ongoing in the township,” a Buddhist monk in Sagaing told DVB.  

Mandalay Region had 3,388 religious buildings either damaged or destroyed, Sagaing Region had 400. The NUG claimed that 3,292,994 were impacted by the earthquake with 3,550 killed, 4,689 injured, and 220 still missing as of April 6. DVB data states that the death toll is 4,335 with 6,588 injured and 210 still missing as of April 8.