INWA, Myanmar, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Htet Htet Win stands before the shattered remains of Me Nu Brick Monastery, once a proud symbol of Inwa's rich history and a lifeline for its people.

But it's not just Me Nu Brick Monastery. Nearly all of Inwa's ancient structures collapsed in the March 28 7.9-magnitude earthquake, which hit central Myanmar's Mandalay Region, leaving Inwa in ruins.

Also known as Ava and located in the Mandalay Region, Inwa was an ancient capital of Myanmar from the 14th to the 19th century, and is home to over 960 ancient buildings and pagodas.

Instead of selling flowers and guiding visitors through centuries-old temples, Htet Htet Win now gestures toward piles of broken bricks and fallen pillars, explaining how the disaster wiped out not only Inwa's heritage but also her livelihood.

"The earthquake broke our pot of rice," said the 22-year-old, using a Myanmar proverb about lost livelihoods. "The monastery fed us. When it collapsed, I felt like we no longer had our pot of rice," she said on Wednesday.

For years, she and her family thrived here. Tourists came for the ancient monasteries and pagodas, and locals like her earned a steady income through selling flowers, taking pictures for visitors, and sharing stories of the ancient pagodas. On busy days, she made more money than she could count, she said.

But the earthquake changed everything. The ground roared, and Inwa's ancient landmarks, including monasteries, stupas, centuries-old structures, crumbled.

Brick by brick, Me Nu Monastery collapsed. Homes cracked open. Roads split.

The death toll from a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 3,145, with 4,589 people injured and 221 missing, the Myanmar Radio and Television reported on Thursday.

As of April 2, the quake damaged a total of 21,783 houses, 805 office buildings, 115 staff housing units, 1,041 school buildings, 921 monastery and nunneries, 1,690 pagodas, 312 other religious structures, and 48 hospitals and clinics throughout the country, official media reported.

Yet Inwa's loss is more than financial. It is a daily struggle for survival as the earthquake shattered water pipelines, cutting off access to clean water for hundreds of families.

"We now have to collect water from the Ayeyarwady River," Htet Htet Win said. "But some riverbanks have collapsed, making it even harder to reach."

At night, fear lingers. With homes unsafe, many sleep outdoors. Each aftershock jolted them awake, a cruel reminder that the worst may not be over.

Still, amid the hardship, she clings to the small mercy of survival. "Compared to other places, we are safe from death. No one was killed in our ward," she said.

Unlike nearby Sagaing, Tada-U, and Mandalay where bodies were pulled from collapsed buildings, Inwa was spared mass casualties. But survival alone does not put food on the table. The tourists are gone. The monasteries are in ruins. And without visitors, there is no income.

Inwa, covering an area of seven square miles, boasts a rich history with 961 buildings and pagodas. Inwa has also been preparing for its nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List, local media reports said.

The ancient monastery attracted over 1,000 visitors daily before COVID-19, and hundreds of visitors before the earthquake, Htet Htet Win said.

Htet Htet Win looks at what remains of her city -- once a thriving historical site, now a pile of broken bricks and shattered dreams. She said she doesn't know if the monastery will ever be restored.

But she refuses to give up, "We have to keep struggling." Enditem

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