Overwhelming monsoon rains and flash floods have battered three states in Myanmar since Sunday, killing at least two people in Rakhine State and causing sections of the Asia Highway to collapse in Karen State, according to local sources.
Flooding inundated three townships in Rakhine State—Mrauk-U, Minbya and Kyauktaw—killing at least two people in Minbya Township. “A woman and her daughter were swept away by a stream’s current on Sunday,” a local volunteer said.
At least 60 villages in Mrauk-U Township have been inundated by heavy rainfall, residents say.
“Our crop fields were damaged by floods again. We’re still not completely back on track after Cyclone Mocha. Most of us are poor and running low on food. So, we would like to ask for donations of food supplies if possible,” a resident of Shauk Pon Kyun Village said. The village on the west bank of the Lemro River has about 135 homes.
On Sunday, more than 1,100 people from Myatasaung camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mrauk-U Township were evacuated to Myatasaung monastery, its abbot said. “They have been here for three days now. Most are day laborers and they don’t have a regular income. We need urgent food supplies for them,” he said. Space is so limited that three families have to share a single small room, the abbot said.
In northern Mrauk-U, about 4,000 people from seven IDP camps will need to be evacuated if the downpours continue tomorrow. “It has been pouring heavily for eight days. If it continues to rain another day, we will need to evacuate people from seven camps,” a spokesperson from Tein Nyo IDP camp said on Tuesday. The camp is one of the most crowded IDP camps in northern Mrauk-U, with about 2,900 people.
Twelve of the 17 IDP camps in Mrauk-U face the gravest threats because they are in low-lying areas.
In Karen State, non-stop rain and flash flooding caused landslides on the Asia Highway between Myawaddy and Kawkariek townships on Monday. The highway is a major trade route between Myanmar and Thailand. Some of its elevated sections collapsed, disrupting trade and transportation. Many trucks were stranded along the highway and at least two sections of it were destroyed by landslides, but there were no reports of casualties.
“Prices will skyrocket due to collapses on the Asia Highway. It will take nearly a month to repair it,” a resident of Myawaddy said.
Myawaddy and Hpa-an towns have also been inundated by flooding, residents say. Flooding in Mon Sate has disrupted transportation since last Friday after several sections of the Mawlamyine-Yangon Highway were submerged. “We had to pull a small car [out] after it was swept away by floodwater yesterday,” a volunteer said.
Rescue operations are continuing in Bilin Township on Tuesday as the level of the Bilin River rose above the danger level. At least 1,000 people remain displaced and are taking shelter at seven camps as a result of flooding in Bilin Township since early August, residents say.
