PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division — More than 350,000 people from some 700 villages have been affected by flooding in three of the Irrawaddy Division’s districts, said the divisional government.
Floods hit Hinthada, Maubin, and Pathein districts in early August and have forced more than 38,000 people into relief camps.
“Hinthada district was hit the hardest. Kyangin, Myanaung, Hinthada and Zalun—which lie near the Irrawaddy River—are also facing erosion from the flooding,” Myo Min Tun, director of the office of the Irrawaddy divisional government, told The Irrawaddy.
The government is operating 187 relief camps for flood victims and there has been no report of casualties so far.
The divisional education department has closed more than 500 submerged schools in three districts until further notice. Floods have also inundated almost 100,000 acres of farmland in the area.
The divisional chief minister has assigned five of his ministers to supervise relief and rescue efforts in the region. The divisional government plans to provide 1,000 bags of rice and 20 million kyats (US$17,000) to each district for the victims, according to Myo Min Tun.
The Irrawaddy Division suffered severe flooding in July and August last year, which submerged more than 88,000 houses in 17 townships in the Pathein, Hinthada and Maubin districts and caused a financial loss of more than 18 billion kyats ($15 million).
